The Sun, the Wolf, and the Lion
by Zane The Last
Summary: This story operates under the idea that the worlds of Final Fantasy VII, VIII, & X (series) are one and the same. Though they share the same planet, these original stories are separated by incalculable amounts of time, until now. The setting where the characters come together is a reality where these worlds are fused together to create something new and different, yet familiar.
1. Chapter 1

Aboard the Celsius, the Gullwings and Yuna's former guardians were travelling to the ruins of Zanarkand. Since the defeat of Vegnagun and the return of Tidus, the group had committed to an annual journey to where they had shed their false beliefs of endless sacrifice and gained their hope of a peaceful future. This is their second year making the trip. Yuna and her ex-guardians gathered around a campfire, just as they did four years earlier, reminiscing about the pilgrimage, sharing anecdotes, and remembering the allies they gained and lost along the way.

Yuna looked around the campfire at her companions. To her left; Lulu and Wakka huddled together. They had been like older siblings to her ever since she arrived on Besaid Island as a child. Across the fire from her: Kimahri, gazing up at the darkening sky. As both Ronso elder and Yuna's first guardian, he allowed himself this opportunity once a year to leave the mountain for a short time. Next to Kimahri, sat Rikku; Yuna's Al Bhed cousin, mesmerized by the flame. Along with Yuna, Rikku was another member of the Gullwings; sphere hunters. Off in the distance between Kimahri and Rikku, Yuna could see Paine, another Gullwing, sitting against the ramp leading into the Celsius's loading bay, lost in her own little world, where she often prefers to be. Inside the Celsius, though she could not see them, Yuna imagined that Brother and Buddy were searching for leads on their next sphere-hunts, and that Shinra was working on something diabolical, yet amazing. To Yuna's immediate right, she saw Tidus, inches away from her face, gazing at her.

Yuna blinked in surprise.

"Oh, sorry!" Tidus said quickly.

"Yes?" asked Yuna.

"Nothing! Just –uh. Just looking!"

"Ha ha, 'just looking'?" Yuna laughed.

"Aaaaahhhhh." Tidus said, unintelligibly.

"I'd call these two lovebirds," Lulu chimed in, "but they're just way too awkward for that."

"I'd say they're closer to being bird-brains, ya?" said Wakka.

Tidus tried to regain his composure, "I'm just thirsty! That's all! I'll -I'll go find something to drink –anybody want anything? No? I'll just-"

"No no no," Rikku said standing up. "I'll get something. Barkeep always has good stuff. You just stay put and uh, continue being made fun of. 'Kay?" And off she ran towards the Celsius. She got Paine's attention and gestured towards the airship. The two climbed the ramp and disappeared into the ship.

"I'll just stop talking for a while." said Tidus, staring at the fire. The rest of the group let out a laugh.

The fire danced and danced. And then… it didn't. It halted for a moment. Tidus blinked and rubbed his eyes, as if to reboot his vision. The fire flickered, but not in the way flames normally do. They shift as if they are being pulled in different directions, erratic and violent.

"Anybody else seeing this?" Tidus asked, still not quite sure what he was seeing.

Suddenly, and only for an instant, Tidus's surroundings were replaced by a void of pure white. When everything appeared to return to normal, he looked around in shock of what he just experienced. The rest of the party did the same and appeared to have been affected by this same phenomenon.

"Um…?" Yuna pointed toward the Celsius, or rather where the Celsius had been until just a moment ago. It was gone. No trace of it remained.

Before anyone could open their mouths to speak; before they could even form their confused thoughts into words, the white void appeared again. This time, when it passed, the campfire had no one to surround it. Yuna and her companions were gone too.


	2. Chapter 2

Squall looked up at his ceiling fan spinning so slowly. "It's trying to hypnotize me," he thought. "Let it. I need to not think." He lay in the middle of the double bed, in the middle of the room, directly under the fan placed perfectly in the center of the ceiling. On the left-hand side of the bed, his wardrobe. On the right, Rinoa's. The door to the room was across from the foot of the bed. Squall often thought of the symmetry of this room. He loved it. He closed his eyes and mentally mapped out the room over and over as he drifted off to sleep.

"Oh, don't you look cute!" Rinoa whispered.

Squall shut his eyes tightly, obviously trying to pretend he was still asleep. Although, he was not particularly pleased when Rinoa woke him like that, he had fully prepared for that by the time they had started sharing a room. What he was more bothered by was the fact that he would have to move over to make room for her on the bed, disturbing his perfectly centered place in the room. He shuffled over to the left. Rinoa threw herself onto her side of the bed and laid on her back next to Squall.

"Cid wants to talk to you. Says he's got a mission." Rinoa finally said.

Since the SeeDs had defeated the sorceress Ultimecia, Squall had relinquished his position of leadership over the mobile Balamb Garden back to Headmaster Cid. The garden had flown back to Balamb and returned to its original place. SeeD was created with the secret mission to defeat the sorceress, but with no sorceress, they returned to their mercenary work.

"I'm going to pretend to be asleep for a little while longer." Squall said.

"I was hoping you would," replied Rinoa, rolling over to Squall and snuggling up with him.

After a few minutes, not knowing what the mission was began to bother Squall.

"Okay, I'm going now," Squall said, sitting up. "I've been alone with my thoughts for too long." He stood up and put on his jacket.

"No mission's as dangerous as that," Rinoa said.

Squall raised an eyebrow at Rinoa as he opened the door to leave. She winked at him and he exited the room.

After leaving the dormitory, Squall made his way to the elevator to see Cid, passing the parking lot and the training grounds. As he approached the library, he saw Zell, but he heard him far earlier. He was chatting with a girl who Squall only knew as "Library Girl with a Pigtail". She and Zell had been spending a lot of time together and Squall thought he should finally figure out what her name actually was, but at the same time he wanted to see how long he could go without having to know.

"HEY, SQUALL!" yelled Zell at the top of his lungs, louder than he needed to be, and waved both arms, more than he needed to be seen. Squall decided to give a wave as he passed by; just enough to let Zell know he acknowledged him, but not enough to invite him over.

Squall approached and entered the elevator. His finger hovered over the buttons. "3F," he thought as he made his selection. As he passed the second floor, he could see Selphie and Irvine walking away from the classroom. Selphie grabbed Irvine's hat off his head, put it on hers, and ran off. Irvine followed, holding the top of his head as if he was naked without his hat on.

When they heard that Squall and Rinoa began sharing a room, Irvine started begging Selphie to do the same with him. Squall often wondered which of the two would drive the other crazy first, but he was certain of one thing: Selphie would definitely kill Irvine first. Squall arrived on the third floor, exited the elevator, and entered Headmaster Cid's office.

As he opened the doors, Squall could see Headmaster Cid sitting at his desk; his wife and former sorceress, Edea in front of the desk, leaning back against it; Quistis on the left side of the office, and Xu on the right. Cid stood and approached Squall. Squall stood at attention and saluted him. Edea waved at Squall, trying to get him to break from his salute.

"At ease, Squall," Cid began. "Quistis and I had a little bet about how long it would take you to get here. I hoped you would take more than ten minutes to get here; even though you are a SeeD, you're still a person, and after all you've done you deserve to take your time, now and then."

"Can you just get to the mission, please?" thought Squall.

"But Quistis assured me you would be here in under ten minutes, and here you are: dutiful as always." Cid continued. "Anyway, the mission: Our old disciple Seifer, has returned to power in Galbadia, rather forcefully, I might add."

"Tying up loose ends, huh." thought Squall. "Who contracted us?" he asked.

"General Caraway. Rinoa's father," answered Cid. "He wants Seifer out."

"Can you define 'out', sir? That's pretty vague." asked Squall.

"I don't like picking favorites, but you're our finest SeeD, Squall. And I know you have quite a bit of history with Seifer, so I'll allow you to take care of him as you see fit." answered Cid. "Oh, and the general doesn't require a visit beforehand. We're giving you the freedom to complete his mission on your own terms."

"Those are good things to hear," thought Squall. "I don't need to see Rinoa's father. Plus, the plan for the last assassination went _so perfectly_."

"Put a team together. I can imagine that you already have a few people in mind," Cid said as he looked at Quistis. Squall looked over at her as well, and nodded.

"I'll go get them," Quistis said, and she left the office.

"What about Rinoa?" Squall asked.

"Ha ha. Afraid to leave your girlfriend behind, eh?" chuckled Cid.

"I mean, can she come with us? She's improved her skill in battle quite-"

"Of course, she can," interrupted Cid. "I've made her an honorary SeeD. You can stop asking to bring along a civilian. If there are no other questions, you are dismissed."

"Thank you, sir." Squall saluted Cid, waved at Edea, and left.

A few hours later, Squall, Quistis, Zell, Irvine, Selphie, and Rinoa all assembled at the front gate of the garden. There, Squall briefed the group about the mission.

"Are you going to be alright with that Rinoa? Fighting Seifer?" asked Squall.

"Let me at him." said Rinoa, as she shuffled her fists and shifted from side to side.

"Just like that. Move your feet, too." whispered Zell, as he coached her to move like himself.

"I'm driving!" yelled Selphie, running out the front gate.

Looking out beyond the gate, the party could see the Ragnarok. They all boarded and soon took flight.

"Where to, Squall?" asked Selphie.

"We'll land outside Deling City and-" Squall was interrupted by the sound of the engines cutting out and the systems powering down.

While Selphie frantically fiddled with the controls, everyone else looked out the cockpit windows. A white void had surrounded the ship.


	3. Chapter 3

Cloud sat upon Fenrir, in front of a building in Kalm, looking at his phone:

 _"Hey Cloud. Got a package for Strife Delivery to pick up and deliver. It's at the item shop in Kalm. –Tifa"_

He put his phone away and looked ahead. The sign said " _Item Shop_ " above the door. He entered the shop. Inside, behind the register, the owner sat on a stool. He appeared to be asleep. Cloud walked over to wake him up, but as he approached the counter, he could see a small box wrapped in brown paper and tied at the top with string.

Cloud picked it up and looked at it. " _–To: T. Lockhart."_

"Tifa wants me to pick up a package addressed to herself? Is this some sort of joke?" Cloud wondered. He looked back up at the owner, still asleep. Cloud shrugged and left, taking the package with him.

As he hopped on his motorcycle, Cloud's phone beeped. He opened it to see a new message:

" _Cloud. I'm putting together another meeting with the Edge Expansion Committee. I'd like you to be there and discuss some things beforehand. Call me so we can talk. –Reeve_ "

His work with the WRO kept Cloud very busy. He has been called on by Reeve to help sprout a new community near the ruins of Midgar, similar to Edge. As much as Cloud denies it, Reeve seems to see that Cloud gives hope to many people in Edge.

Cloud started his engine and made his way out of the town, towards Edge. When he got there, the streets were busy as usual; the roads packed with cars and trucks, and crowds of people filling the sidewalks. Cloud navigated through side streets and alleyways to get home, to 7th Heaven.

Upon opening the door, the bell chimed. Tifa walked in from the kitchen. Apart from he and Tifa, Cloud could see the bar was empty.

"Parcel for Ms. Lockhart," Cloud said, holding up the package. He walked over and set it on the bar. "Hey."

"'Hey'? Is that it?" Tifa asked.

"It was either that or 'Honey, I'm home.'" Cloud answered.

"Yeah, that doesn't sound like you," Tifa said, pulling the string on the package.

"You know what that is?" Cloud asked.

"Of course," Tifa answered, as she pulled back the paper and opened the box. "A glass."

Tifa held up a drinking glass. It was identical the all the other ones in the bar. Cloud had a look of confusion fixed on his face.

"…Why?" Cloud asked.

"Well, not because I needed one," Tifa began. "But there's this really cute delivery guy, and I needed an excuse to get him to stop by… You know, for someone who lives here, you're not around all that often."

"I know," Cloud said. "Between the WRO and deliveries, I guess I've been spending a lot of time out and about."

"In a way, I kind of envy you," Tifa said leaning on the bar. "I miss travelling the world, seeing different places. I mean, I don't miss the circumstances; running for our lives, hunting a psychopath."

"Why don't we switch jobs?" Cloud joked, sitting down on a stool leaning in across from Tifa. "You can help Reeve, and I'll run this place, stay home and take care of Marlene and Denzel."

"We'd probably get more female customers. Then I'd have to beat up the ones that get too handsy." Tifa said, putting her hands on Cloud's.

"Honestly, you'd probably be better at helping Reeve than I am. I'm really not sure why he wants me so involved." Cloud said.

"It's because seeing you gives people hope. They've seen how much you've already done for them. Who else has saved the planet? Beaten Sephiroth? Twice? Helped cure Geostigma?" Tifa asked. "Besides, what would happen to this place?"

"You could sell it," Cloud said.

"I could…" Tifa sighed. "But I couldn't."

Cloud put his forehead against Tifa's from across the bar. The two locked eyes and smiles began to crack on their faces. Suddenly, Clouds phone rang.

"That's probably Reeve," Cloud said.

"You can let it ring," Tifa suggested.

Soon after, Tifa's phone began to ring, then the 7th Heaven's phone, as well. Cloud and Tifa's smiles turned from playful to uncomfortable.

"How many phones does this guy have?" Tifa sighed, as she pulled out her phone. "Hello? ...Yeah, he's here too…"

Cloud watched Tifa talking on the phone. He assumed she and Reeve were talking about the Edge Expansion Committee.

" _Of course_ they do," Tifa sighed. "Okay. I'll tell him… I dunno. The change of pace might do him good… Okay, see ya later."

Tifa hung up her phone. "Is he offering to buy the bar?" Cloud joked.

"The Edge Expansion Committee," she began. "They're looking at Sector 8 as a possible settlement. Problem is, Reeve doesn't know if it's safe enough."

"And he wants me to check it out?" Cloud asked.

"And create a safe zone, if necessary. It's a change from all the meetings and public events you've been going to. Plus, you'll get to spend quality time with Tifa!" she said, putting her hands together.

"He asked you to go, too?" Cloud asked.

"No, but I went through all the effort of ordering a glass to get your butt back home to me, so I might as will come with you," Tifa said. "I've closed up the bar for the day anyway."

"We're leaving now?" Cloud asked. "We won't get there until morning."

"Reeve's hooking us up with a pick-up," Tifa said, grabbing the keys to the bar.

"Just drive us out of Edge."

The two of them walked out the door, locking it behind them. They walked over to Cloud's motorcycle and got on.

"I know I've been fighting for half my life, and even before that we fought to shape our world," Cloud said. "But I can't help but wonder why we still have to fight, now that Sephiroth, Shinra, and Deepground are gone. Do we just look for reasons to fight now?"

"Maybe," said Tifa, putting her arms around Cloud. "But I think as long as we have people to protect, we'll always fight."

Cloud started his engine and the two took off. With all the traffic, it took some time, but eventually Tifa and Cloud had made it out of the city. Where the city's road ended and the wasteland began, Cloud stopped, and they waited.

"So where's this 'pick-up'?" Cloud asked.

"I think you'll know it when you see it," Tifa said, looking up at the sky.

Soon Cloud could hear a loud buzzing sound, and the wind started to pick up. He looked up to see the underside of Cid's airship the Shera.

"The WRO really likes you, Cloud," Tifa said.

"Yeah, looks like Reeve's pulling out all the stops," agreed Cloud. "Either that or he really wants this done fast."

"Don't say that. Just wait until you see what's waiting for you on board."

The Shera landed and opened up the hanger door. Tifa and Cloud were greeted by Yuffie, Barret, Red XIII, and Vincent.

"I know the ship's pretty, but quit your gawkin'," Cid said from the Shera's speakers. "We're losin' daylight. Let's go!"

Cloud wheeled Fenrir into the hanger, and joined his old companions with Tifa. The hanger door closed and the room rumbled in preparation for take-off. Barret approached Cloud, who was securing his bike.

"Hey, spikey. How's Marlene doin'?" Barret asked, patting Cloud on the shoulder.

"We replaced her arm with a gun. It's bigger than yours," Cloud joked. "She's doing really well. It's good to see you, Barret."

"Great to hear, man," Barret said. "I've been talking to Reeve. Tryna' get a school built near the bar. Give Marlene and Denzel somewhere to go during the day."

"Slow down there, Barret," Tifa said, walking up to him and Cloud. "Having an eight year old as a manager gets the bar good tips!"

Suddenly, airship shook violently. When everything settled, Yuffie walked over to hanger's phone line and called to the cockpit.

"Hey, everything okay up there, Cid?" Yuffie asked.

"It's not my fault!" Cid yelled.

"Calm down, dude," Yuffie said. "Nobody's hurt or anything. What is it?"

"I don't know! There was a white light outside, and then… I dunno," Cid said. "Take a look for yourselves."

Cid opened up the hanger doors. Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Yuffie, Red, and Vincent looked outside. What they saw was definitely not Midgar. As a matter of fact, none of them had seen this place before.

The Shera was hovering high above a crowded and bustling city, surrounding a massive dome. The dome was partially damaged; thick smoke billowed out one of the missing pieces of the roof. A loud roar could be heard from the dome, followed by an all too familiar sound of panicked screams.

"Like I said: not my fault," Cid said quietly.


	4. Chapter 4

Yuna heard the screams of men and women. Memories of the terror caused by Sin come flooding back to her. She opened her eyes hoping to stop the nightmare. She found herself and her companions on a brick road in the middle of a crowded town in some sort of panic. Droves of townspeople ran as fast as their legs could carry them passed Yuna, away from an enormous dome-structure off in the distance. Parts of the dome had begun to collapse in on itself.

Instinctively, Yuna began to walking toward the dome, against the current of people. Her walk soon quickened to a jog, then a run. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Tidus, Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri right on her heels. No sign of the rest of the Gullwings.

"Come on! Hurry!" Yuna called out.

"Where you think you're going, missy?!" Wakka answered.

"I don't know, but if something's up, we should do something about it, right?" Tidus said.

Soon enough, they arrived at what appeared to be the main entrance to the structure. It was decorated with symbols carved into the archway and banners, which had now been torn. Pieces of rubble littered the area, forcing anyone going in or out of the dome to zigzag between the pieces. Bodies of the injured and killed alike could be seen in and around the rubble as well. A monstrous roar came echoing out of the entrance.

Yuna approached an injured man wearing clothing similar to the banners and markings seen around the dome entrance.

"Hey, what happened here? What's everyone running from?" she asked.

"The Aeon… the temple's Aeon… It's loose… Everyone needs to leave! Leave at once!" he said, with horror in his eyes.

"Uh, aren't the Fayth gone? And the Aeons with them?" Tidus asked.

"Yeah, you must be mistaken, right? There _are_ no more Aeons. And I'm not aware of any more temples. Are you sure about this?" Yuna asked. "Hey, stay with us, now. Hey!"

The man's eyes rolled back and his body went limp. The party grouped together.

"He musta been confused, right?" Wakka asked. "We visited all the temples in Spira. This ain't one of them."

"And in there: it's gotta be a fiend." Tidus said.

Another roar could be heard from inside the dome, rumbling the ground beneath their feet.

"A _really_ big fiend?" Tidus followed up, much less confident than before.

"But if it really _is_ an Aeon, we need to approach it differently. Maybe I can calm it down or… or something." Yuna said, "Let me handle it. Please. The people out there need your help.

"Whatever it is, it's putting people in danger," said a voice from behind Tidus. "You included. Step aside."

Cloud, Tifa, Cid, Barret, Yuffie, Vincent, and Red XIII stood atop the rubble looking down at Yuna and her former guardians. The two groups faced each other and stared for a moment in silence.

"Uh… You guys are way in over your heads… No offence." Tidus said, finally breaking the silence.

"What he means to say, is that we're handling it. Please, stay back." Lulu interjected.

Kimahri stepped between Yuna and the new faces. "Yuna go. Take care of Aeon. No one interrupts."

Yuna nodded. She equipped her garment grid to her Summoner dressphere and ran off into the temple.

"You're making a big mistake." Cloud said.

" _You're_ the ones making a mistake!" Tidus fired back.

"Wow. That was… really underwhelming, kid." Cid said.

"We're not here for you; move." Vincent demanded as he loaded his gun and pointed it at Tidus.

Upon stretching his arm out, Vincent was pounced on by Kimahri and there was no turning back for these two clashing parties.


	5. Chapter 5

Red XIII dashed after Kimahri and Vincent, who managed to slip out from under Kimahri with his cloak. The Ronso elder drew his lance in time to fight back against Red XIII's claws and teeth. He threw Red aside to see Vincent aiming his gun at him. Vincent fired off three shots at Kimahri, who managed to block and deflect the bullets with his lance.

Seeing his new foes distracted by the initial strike, Wakka hurled his blitzball at Yuffie, knocking her back and bouncing it into Cid, knocking him on his back, too.

"Guardians, time to work, ya!" Wakka yelled, jumping up to catch his ball.

"Here we go!" Tifa said, as she leapt back to where Yuffie had landed.

Lulu shot a bolt of lightning from her fingers at Cloud, who quickly spun his sword in defense. "Don't let them in the dome! We must buy Yuna all the time we can." Seeing that Barret had begun to aim his arm-gun at her, Lulu conjured a dense wall of ice just in time to catch his bullets.

"Roger that!" Tidus yelled, lunging at Cloud. Tidus's strike was parried by Cloud. As he did this, Cloud kicked Tidus in the stomach and batted him away with the broad side of his sword, sending him flying.

Wakka, Yuffie, and Tifa stood in a triangle, all poised to fight.

"Uh, is there any way we can maybe swap you two out?" Wakka asked. "Call me old fashion, but I just don't feel right beating a couple of girls."

"I wouldn't worry about it, big guy," Tifa said. "I doubt you'll be beating either of us."

Tifa jumped and flipped into the air, dropping her heel down over Wakka, while Yuffie threw her shuriken at him. Thinking quickly, Wakka kicked his blitzball to intercept the shuriken and threw arms up to block Tifa's blow. The impact sent a shockwave out from where the two connected, and Wakka threw Tifa back to catch his ball falling from the sky.

"You'll have to get up pretty early to pull one over on me like that, girls." Wakka scoffed.

From a puff of smoke at Wakka's feet, Yuffie launched herself upward feet first, kicking Wakka square in the chin, sending him flipping backward and high into the air. At the height of his time in the air, Wakka regained his balance and wound up for a strike. His blitzball began to burn brightly as he kicked it down at Yuffie. A literal ball of fire rained down. Yuffie evaded it with a series of backflip. The ball adjusted its course toward Tifa, leaving a trail of fire behind it and setting the ground ablaze.

Red XIII and Kimahri lunged at each other, clashing over and over, throwing the each other wildly around the battlefield. Vincent circled at a distance, taking shots at Kimahri every chance he got. Kimahri was at a disadvantage, and he knew it. He needed to take one of them out of the equation fast. On his next clash with Red XIII, Kimahri grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and hurled him at Vincent hoping he would either drop his guard by catching or evading Red.

Vincent jumped over Red. Kimahri was in the air waiting for him. Before he could react, Vincent was in Kimahri's clutches. They landed, the Ronso holding Vincent up by the neck. Vincent lifted his gun, but Kimahri had already grabbed his hand, pointing it away.

"Small man is fast. Moves like wind. Now Kimahri moves like wind, too." Kimahri said, as he used his Lancet ability, drawing streams of energy from Vincent.

Red XIII roared as he lunged at Kimahri, but before he made contact, Kimahri dropped Vincent and slipped away, moving just like him. Now Kimahri was the one circling. Red and Vincent went back to back.

"Tricky beast, isn't he?" Red XIII panted.

"What do you say we become tricky beasts ourselves?" Vincent asked.

Red turned to look at Vincent, to see he was holding up a stash of Materia. Vincent slotted a few into his gun, and a few into Red XIII's headdress.

Cid and Tidus had landed face-down in front of each other, with their weapons thrown at their side. Feeling the other's presence, they both looked up at each other, then looked around to find their weapons, and then back at the other. Tidus and Cid both scramble to stand up and arm themselves. Tidus grabs his sword and moves to strike Cid. Cloud lands in between them, making Tidus reconsider his attack.

"Still think we're the ones in over our head?" Cid said, taking his place at Cloud's side.

"I'll admit, two on one doesn't sound all that great, but I've been in tight spots before." Tidus answered.

"This isn't the real fight," said Cloud. "Let's make this quick."

"Quick, you say? I agree." said Tidus.

With that, Tidus focused. He began to glow red, and his movements sped up.

"Haddayalikthis?" Tidus said, as he dashed by Cloud, slashing as he passed by. This time, Cloud had no chance to counter. Tidus quickly turned for another pass and shot by Cid with another slash.

"Comeonguys. Keepup!" jabbed Tidus.

"Great, he fights fast and _talks_ fast? This is annoying on two fronts." said Cid, as he struggled to block Tidus's sword.

"This is not what I meant by 'quick'." said Cloud.

Tidus's movements were sporadic, and pattern-less. It seemed to Cloud that all he and Cid could do was to just hold out and wait for an opening.

Barret was surprised by how agile Lulu was, despite how long and heavy her dress appeared. He knew he had an advantage at a long-range battle, but Lulu had been using the debris from the dome for cover, ducking in and out to close the distance.

Lulu crouched with her back against an upright pillar, Barret's bullets passing by her left side. She stuck out from her right and, with the snap of her fingers, shot a ball of fire in Barret's direction. Barret ducked down as the fire hit his cover.

"You know, lady. Back home, I've been in a lot of firefights, but this is a truly _magical_ experience." Barret chuckled.

"Wow. A fighter _and_ a master of comedy? I have to _hand_ it to you, you're about as funny as Tidus." Lulu said, as she shot a streak of lightning from her fingertips to keep Barret pinned down.

"I dunno who that is, but I'm assuming you're making fun of me." Barret said.

"Well, you're a bit smarter than you look then." Lulu said, moving up towards Barret's position, shooting another fireball over Barret's head.

"Damn, lady. You always on fire like this?" Barret said, jumping up and pointing his arm-gun to where the fire came from, however; Lulu was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, I don't know," Lulu said from behind Barret, who turned around in a panic. "My friends often say I'm pretty cold."

Lulu put her hand on Barret's arm-gun and conjured a block of solid ice on it. Barret aimed it at her anyway, but it would not fire.

Lulu smirked. "Don't freeze up on me now." She said.

Barret growled in frustration, and flailed his now-frozen arm at Lulu, who sidestepped him. Lulu placed her hand on Barret's back and sent a jolt of electricity through his whole body, launching him through the air.

Tifa rolled out of the way of Wakka's fiery blitzball, but Wakka was there to rebound it right back at her hitting Tifa in the middle of her torso. Her body was thrown clear across the battlefield.

"Score one for Wakka, ya!" Wakka cheered.

He looked up ready to catch his ball, but saw Yuffie's shuriken knock it away. Just then, Yuffie came flying in from his side, hitting him with a flurry of kicks. While he recovered, Wakka could see that Yuffie was tracking her shuriken out of the corner of her eye, and anticipated it coming in from behind while he was dealing with Yuffie.

On a leap of faith, Wakka hurdled backward. Looking down, he saw Yuffie's shuriken whiz under him. He followed it with his eyes, hoping to see Yuffie catch her own shuriken in the stomach. To his surprise, Yuffie was too agile for even a projectile that fast. She cart-wheeled over it, grabbed it, and using her momentum, threw it back at Wakka even faster than before.

Wakka made himself as horizontal as he could, but there was no dodging this time. His chest was sliced open by the shuriken, and he hit the ground, landing flat on his back. Meanwhile, Tifa had started to stand up. She brushed the cinders off her clothes, and made her way over to Yuffie.

"Come on. Let's head into the dome. At least two of us can get in there." Tifa said, turning toward the temple.

"Hey, you're not done with me yet!" Wakka shouted.

Wakka stumbled over to his blitzball, threw it up into the air, and wound up a kick.

"Take this!" he yelled, and kicked it as hard as he could right at Tifa.

"Not this time." she said, leaning back with her fist cocked.

When the ball got close, Tifa socked it with all her might and hit the ball right back at Wakka knocking him back into a pile of rubble.

Cid and Cloud were covered with nicks and cuts from Tidus's relentless flurry of slashes. Suddenly, Cloud saw an opening. Tidus was slowing down. When their blades made contact, Cloud sidestepped and held his arm out. Tidus ran right into it, clothes-lining himself. Tidus slid across the ground, but quickly stood up. He was panting, hard.

"Looks like the runt's finally run out of steam." Cid said.

"Ha… Ha… You wish, buddy." Tidus replied, between breaths.

"Then come on. Show us all this energy of yours," Cloud taunted.

"Energy?... Man… You're really going to kick yourself… with all the ideas you're giving me." Tidus chuckled.

"Oh, great," Cloud said, readying himself.

Tidus ran at the two. Cloud ran ahead to strike first; Cid, a few steps behind. Cloud swung his sword horizontally, but Tidus slipped right over him. Cid followed up with a lunge of his spear. Tidus stepped on the tip, and proceeded to walk all the way up to Cid, using him as a springboard to launch himself into the air.

Tidus, high in the air, raised his sword to the sky. It began to glow white.

"Cloud!" Cid called, getting into a crouched position. "Alley-oop!"

Cloud nodded, ran at Cid, and planted both feet against his spear. Cid used all his might to throw Cloud into the sky, straight at Tidus. Seeing this, Tidus unleashed his attack. He swung his sword sending streams of energy raining down. Cloud did a quick spin to evade the attack, flipped forward, and brought his sword down on Tidus. Tidus managed to raise his blade to protect himself, but the force knocked him straight down to the ground.

Cloud looked back down at Cid. He may have dodged Tidus's attack, but it kept going, battering Cid and exploding on the ground around him.

"Oh, no," Cloud said, dropping down to Cid.

Cloud ran over to him, but he could see that Cid was down; injured, badly. In anger, Cloud turned to where Tidus had fallen, raised his sword, and approached him.

Red XIII dashed out to face Kimahri head on, who accepted his challenge. Ready to pounce, Red bent down and snarled at the Ronso. Kimahri approached with his lance ready, pointed at Red XIII.

"Now, Vincent!" Red called.

Kimahri glanced over his shoulder to see Vincent slip behind him and fire his gun. Kimahri was hit. The impact hurt him, but afterward Kimahri found it hard to move, as if his whole body became heavy.

"Gravity Materia," Vincent said. "You're not going anywhere anytime soon. Let's finish this."

Red's headdress began to glow white and create a fog. He opened his mouth, creating a ball of ice. Kimahri saw one option. He opened his mouth as well. Red XIII breathed a beam of ice at Kimahri, who countered this with breathing a fireball of his own. The two attacks collided, creating an explosion of magic, sending the three combatants flying. Kimahri was thrown clear of the Gravity spell, able to move freely.

The first to recover was Red XIII. He quickly ran at Kimahri for a preemptive strike. Red sank his fangs into Kimahri's arm, who let out a roar. He flailed about, trying to free himself. He looked around and saw Vincent beginning to stand up, and behind him he saw the shimmer of where the Gravity spell once trapped Kimahri, still in effect.

Kimahri grabbed Red as a body-shield, and ran at Vincent. Bracing himself, Vincent was toppled by the stampeding Ronso. Kimahri jumped into the air and threw Red XIII down into the Gravity spell. Struggling to move, Red loosened his grip on Kimahri. Hearing Vincent loading his gun, Kimahri turned to face his remaining enemy.

Vincent had loaded Fire Materia into his gun and began shooting flaming bullets. Kimahri spun his lance to block the shots. Each impact erupted in an explosion. Vincent did not let up. As he fired, Vincent walked towards Kimahri, closing the gap between them. Once Vincent was firing at point-blank, he thrust his gauntlet through Kimahri's defense and grabbed him by the neck, squeezing, and aimed his gun at Kimahri's head.

"Farewell." Vincent said, but Kimahri dropped his lance and grabbed Vincent's gun, pointing it away as it fired. With his other hand, he also grabbed Vincent's other arm, ensuring he could not escape. Kimahri leapt into the air, pulling Vincent with him. At the height of his jump, Kimahri planted both feet on Vincent and began to drop. The two landed, with the full force of Kimahri crushing Vincent. Kimahri picked up his lance and made his way back to the temple entrance.

Tidus could barely stand. He propped himself upright with his sword. A sense of fear struck him when he saw Cloud approaching him. Cloud's sword began to glow, and his pace quickened. Just then, a familiar voice filled the skies.

"Heeeeeeey, guys! Ready for a rescue?" Rikku's voice could be heard over the speaker of the Celsius.

Everyone looked to the sky to see a red airship closing in.


	6. Chapter 6

When the void dissipated, the Ragnarok began descending uncontrollably. Squall, Rinoa, Quistis, Zell, and Irvine were thrown down to the floor of the cockpit. The main console started beeping, as Selphie struggled with the controls. The ship fell into a nosedive. Selphie applied the vertical thrusters and pulled up on the control wheel as hard as she could.

When the Ragnarok's altitude stabilized, Squall stood up and looked out the window. The white void had no longer surrounded the ship. Instead, Squall saw a vast, bustling city with a giant spire erected in the center.

"Where are we, Selphie?" Squall asked.

"I have never seen this place before in my life," Selphie answered.

"Set us down. Let's figure this out," Squall said.

Selphie began a descent. She found a clearing in the buildings which appeared to be a town-square of sorts. The people there quickly cleared a space for the ship. Once they had landed, the SeeDs opened up the hanger doors and slowly emerged from their ship.

Squall and his team began to take in their surroundings. The spire they saw earlier was enormous. It had several tiers, narrowing towards the top level. Each tier had many balconies and towers extending from the main structure. It seemed like a modern-day castle. At the base of the spire, were large walls surrounding it with a wide gate.

The Ragnarok had landed in the middle of a clearing in from of the gate. The buildings on either side appeared to be homes and shops of the residents, varying in height; some were two stories tall, some extended to five stories. The streets were made up of brightly colored cobblestone.

The townspeople that gathered around were cautious, almost afraid of their new guests. In the distance, the gate opened. The crowd of people parted and two lines of armed guards approached and positioned themselves in front of the people and circled the SeeDs. Once in place, the guards cocked the rifles they held and aimed them at Squall and his friends.

Squall slowly put his hands in the air, gestured for the rest of his group to do the same.

"It's probably best that we cooperate with the authorities here," Squall thought. "We have no idea where we are, uninvited, and outnumbered."

From behind the guards, emerged a man. The man had long blue hair with three long locks draped in front of his face. There also appeared to be rather prominent blue veins on his forehead and face. He wore a long purple robe, tied at the waist with a green sash. He looked at the SeeDs, then gestured to the guards to lower their rifles.

Squall took this as a sign of peace. Hands still raised, he and the rest of the SeeDs walked over to this man.

"Please," he began. "You can relax. My name is Seymour Guado. Welcome to the city of Bevelle."

"I'm Squall. My friends and I are SeeDs from Balamb Garden," Squall began. "We're sorry about intruding here and landing in your city. We're not actually sure where we are or how we even got here."

"This machina is very impressive," Seymour said, looking up at the Ragnarok.

"Machina?" thought Squall. "It's our space ship. We use it for transportation during our missions," he said.

"Missions?" Seymour inquired, "I'd like to hear more from you and your friends, Squall from Balamb Garden. Please, allow me to lead you to our guest hall, where we can help each other understand one another."

Seymour gestured toward the spire. The guards stood at attention and made way for the SeeDs. Squall looked back at his group.

"What about our orders, Squall?" asked Zell.

"They still apply," Squall began. "But seeing as how we're a little lost, we might as well take this time to figure out our current situation."

"Plus it looks like Seymour is extending quite an invitation," Rinoa said, "It would be rude to decline."

"I'm not worried about rude," Squall thought, "I am worried about pretty much everything else though."

Squall turned to Seymour. "Lead the way," he said.

The party followed Seymour through the gate, into the first level of the spire.


	7. Chapter 7

"Alright, Brother! Let's even the odds!" Rikku said.

"Which one is "even the odds" button?" Brother asked.

"Try the one marked ' _machine gun_ '. Any of the ones under ' _weapons'_ will probably work, too." Paine said.

At that moment, the Celsius unleashed a payload of bullets across the battlefield, creating a trench down the middle as it passed over.

"Everybody, regroup!" Cloud yelled, as he picked up Cid over his shoulder.

A battered Vincent dragged Red XIII out from the Gravity spell. Barret smashed the ice on his gun and wandered over to the two, joined by Yuffie and Tifa. Cloud handed Cid to Vincent.

"Can you take him back to the Shera? He's hurt. You look pretty bad, too." Cloud said.

"I feel like I was hit by a train. I'll get him there." Vincent answered, and vanished with Cid.

The Celsius circled the temple for another run at Cloud's group. It swooped in low and as it approached, it swung it's backend forward and opened up the exit ramp. Rikku and Paine both launched out of the opening, straight at Cloud and his companions.

Barret, Yuffie, Tifa, and Red leapt backward to avoid Rikku and Paine, but Cloud stood fast. He brought his sword down on Rikku, who used her daggers to parry. As Paine landed behind Cloud, he popped a spare blade out of his Fusion Sword in time to block attacks from both sides.

At this time, the Celsius landed near the temple entrance. Buddy and Barkeep exited via the ramp, picked up a wounded Wakka, and carried him inside. The Celsius then took flight and hovered high above the dome.

Paine and Rikku stuck at Cloud again, who fully deflected the attacks and leapt back to his comrades. Tidus, Lulu, and Kimahri jumped over the trench made by the Celsius and joined Rikku and Paine. The two groups stood across from each other, shoulder to shoulder with their friends.

"For the last time," Tidus said. "You're not getting to Yuna."

"We're not after her," answered Cloud. "We're here to stop that _thing_ in there."

Just then, an enormous roar, bigger than any other before, came from within the temple. More pieces of the dome began to crumble and fall.

"Yunie!" cried Rikku, "We gotta get in there! Now!"

"Come on! Let's go!" said Tidus, and the guardians ran inside.

"Let's follow," Tifa said, and they did just that.


	8. Chapter 8

"This place is HUGE!" Selphie said as the SeeDs walked into the spire.

The first room they entered was a large hall with stands running along the walls at either side. Between the stands sat long wooden pews, all pointed towards a stage. On the stage sat a podium. Behind it, was a long table seated by high-backed chairs.

The room was lit by candlelight. A large chandelier hung from the ceiling. Behind and above the stage were two large windows, which also helped light the room.

"Yeah. What exactly is this place?" Irvine asked. "It looks like a mega-church. I'm not even sure 'mega' really does it justice."

"Bevelle is the heart of this land," Seymour began. "This room is where the laws and rules of the land are decided. We invite our citizens to play an active role in maintaining, but also amending these laws. Think of this chamber as a cross between a courtroom and a debate hall."

"I bet town meetings take a really long time," Quistis said.

"They do," answered Seymour. "But the people's involvement and satisfaction make it all worthwhile."

The group walked towards the stage. Seymour pointed at the table on the stage.

"This is where the leaders of all the cities and their temples sit. If they wish, they each may address the citizens at the podium during their visits," Seymour continued.

"You have a seat up there?" Squall asked.

"I have the honor of leading Bevelle," he answered. "I have not been leader for very long. Just since…"

Seymour paused, seeming lost in a thought.

"Since what?" Rinoa asked.

"Well, I suppose it's been almost a year now," Seymour said. "Time certainly flies. In days of peace, it would be a blessing if we could hold time in our hands; bend it to our will."

"That would be interesting," Squall said. "And dangerous."

"Well, I can only imagine," said Seymour. "Allow me to show you more of this wonderful place."

Seymour led them through a door behind the stage. They entered a strange elevator. It reminded Squall of the ones they rode in Esthar. It appeared to activate and light up as the group stepped on it. The elevator did not seem to have a definite shape or frame. The surfaces were made up only of symbols and glyphs.

They started to move. The elevator shaft was pitch black. The SeeDs could not even tell how fast or far up they were moving. When the elevator stopped, a door opened and Seymour stepped out. The rest of the group quickly followed, nervous that the glyphs might disappear from under them.

They entered a brightly lit room, complete with luxurious furniture. In the middle of the room sat a large round table, reminding Squall of a coffee table. It was surrounded by armchairs and curved couches. On the far side of the room was a set of double doors. In front of the doors sat a desk and a chair.

"So, we're on the second level of this building now?" Rinoa asked.

"Actually, we're on the sixth," Seymour answered. Zell and Rinoa's jaws dropped upon hearing that.

"I suppose it's difficult to tell from inside the lift," Seymour began, "This room is where I meet and converse with guests, as well as tend to my work. Beyond those doors are my personal quarters."

The walls were painted with swirls of blue and white. They were also murals painted, depicting incredible beasts.

"Look!" Selphie exclaimed, and ran over to the wall. She pointed at the murals. "Those are GFs!"

"In Bevelle, we know these creatures as Aeons." Seymour said, walking to Selphie's side. "Aeons are the physical living creations of the sacred beings known as the Fayth. The Fayth are housed in our temples. We worship the Fayth, and in return, they bless our summoners with Aeons, who aid them in battle."

The SeeDs stood in silence, reflecting on what they just heard.

"That sounds real deep and complicated." Zell said.

"No kidding," thought Squall. "We normally just beat them into submission and then they fight for us. Best not to mention that though."

Zell continued, "We normally just bea-"

"We normally do things differently where we come from." Squall interrupted.

"We call them Guardian Forces," Quistis added. "GF for short."

"Very interesting," Seymour commented. "Come. Sit. I have a feeling we have much to discuss."

Seymour sat down in an armchair, gesturing to the SeeDs to do the same. Squall sat on a couch next to Rinoa. On their right, sat Quistis in an armchair. On their left, Zell and Selphie sat on a couch, with Irvine sitting on an armchair next to them.

"Let's get right to it," Seymour started. "Who exactly are you?"

"Like I said, we're SeeDs from Balamb Garden," Squall began, gesturing from his left to his right. "This is Irvine, Selphie, Zell, Rinoa, and Quistis."

"Balamb Garden…" wondered Seymour. "I have not heard of this place. Far to our West, there is a town surrounding Balamb Temple. Are you familiar with the temple?"

"There's no temple in our Balamb," Quistis said. "Are there two Balambs?"

Squall and his friends looked at each other in confusion.

"Very interesting indeed," Seymour said. "We can talk on this matter more, later. Let's change the subject. You mentioned a mission? You have orders to do… what?"

"I'm not sure I can discuss that with you," Squall said. "I hope you don't take offense to that, it's just that our orders are very sensitive. Sorry."

"I can't say that I'm not disappointed," Seymour said. "But as my guests, don't feel obligated to share anything you wish not to. Can I ask: What is SeeD?"

Upon hearing that question, memories of Seifer's interrogation at the Galbadian prison came rushing back to Squall. He winced at the thought of being as helpless as then.

"SeeD," Squall began. "Is a mercenary program. SeeDs are trained in Gardens, and then contracted to fight."

Everyone looked at Squall, knowing that there was more to SeeD than that.

"But, SeeD was developed for another reason," Squall continued. "There was a sorceress, and the _real_ mission of SeeD was to destroy her."

"A sorceress, you say?" Seymour asked, leaning back in his chair. Seymour pondered for a few moments. "SeeDs, Bevelle would like to hire you."


	9. Chapter 9

The guardians ran through the halls of the temple, led by Rikku and Tidus. Cloud and his party followed at a safe distance. The halls were made of stone, lit by torches. The damage to the temple left the halls littered with pieces of the ceiling and some of the torches had fallen, creating small fires. Many banners that once hung from the ceiling had been torn and ripped from their fixtures.

As they ran deeper into the dome, they came to a doorway. A cave-in had made it impossible to access.

"Dead end," said Paine.

"We have to find a way around," Tidus said.

Just then, Cloud jumped passed, cutting through the debris and clearing the path. Everyone ran up to join Cloud. Before them was a small room with Yuna on her hands and knees, sweating and out of breath. The guardians rushed to her side.

To Tidus, the room appeared to be a Chamber of the Fayth. Round, and decorated with candles. In the floor, where the Fayth would be, there was a crater with pieces of the Fayth broken and crushed.

"Yunie!" cried Rikku.

"Are you alright?" asked Lulu. "Was there an Aeon?"

"What happened to it?" asked Tidus.

"It's… gone…" Yuna said between breaths.

"Ha! I knew you could beat it!" Tidus cheered.

Cloud crouched down and looked at Yuna.

"That's not what she means. Is it?" Cloud asked.

Yuna shook her head. Cloud sighed and stood up.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Tidus said. "She did her best!"

" _Her_ best? What about _your_ best?" Cloud snapped. "You sent her in here alone! Not only did you not help her, but you fought with us! People who could have and were willing to help!"

A look of regret fell over Tidus's face. "I'm sorry, Yuna," he said turning to her.

"That's alright," Yuna said as she pulled herself to her feet.

The two groups stood across from each other.

"So, now what?" asked Barret.

"We came here to fight a monster," Tifa said. "There's no monster here anymore."

"No hard feelings then?" Tidus asked.

"If that thing's still out there, then there's no telling if people are still in danger," said Cloud. "And if it _does_ hurt more people, then that's all on you."

"Then how about we go after it? All of us." Tidus said.

Cloud turned around and walked out of the room. One by one, the rest of his comrades followed.

"Is that a 'yes'? 'No'?" Tidus called.

"It means," Tifa answered. "'Not Interested'."

"Your loss then!" Tidus called. "Buncha' jerks."

"Yeah, well they're no joke," Paine said. "Did you see what they did to Wakka? And I saw you get beat down pretty bad, too."

"Wakka?" gasped Yuna. "Is he okay?! What happened?"

"He'll be fine, Yuna," Lulu said. "It's nothing your skills can't fix."

"So what exactly happened in here?" Rikku asked. "It _was_ an Aeon, right?"

"It was," Yuna began. "But it was wild, like a fiend. When the Aeons fought with us, they had a certain grace and composure; this one was mindless. As much of a danger to itself as it was to me. It… it looked like it was in agony."

"You said it was 'gone'. What does that mean? It didn't just walk out the front door, right?" asked Tidus.

"It's like it just turned to darkness; faded. I've never seen anything behave like that," Yuna answered. "I'm sorry. I don't know how to explain it."

"It's alright, Yuna," Lulu said. "You're worn out. We should leave this place."


	10. Chapter 10

Cloud, Tifa, Red, Yuffie, and Barret exited the dome. The screaming had ceased. They looked out toward the rest of the city. The townspeople had begun to tend to the wounded and look for survivors. People with wheelbarrows could be seen transporting pieces of rubble from the temple.

"This is awful," Yuffie said.

"In retrospect," Red XIII said. "It seems the time we spent fighting was wasted since we couldn't even stop that monster."

As they walked down the brick road away from the temple, they passed various stands of food and clothing turned into makeshift shelters for wounded and lost children. Barret felt a bump at his waist. He looked down and saw a young girl with tears in her eyes.

"Hey, what's the matter, sweetheart?" Barret asked as he kneeled down.

"I can't find my papa," She sniffled.

"Let's go look for him, huh?" Barret said, fighting back his own tears. "Where was the last place you saw him?"

The girl pointed behind Barret towards the crowds of people clearing rubble. Barret looked over at his friends ahead, looking back at him. He took the little girl's hand.

"I can't walk away from this, guys," Barret said. "Sorry. Back when the plate fell down on Sector 7, if we had the chance to help people like this, we would've, right? But we didn't. We got this chance now though."

Barret and the girl walked off back toward the dome.

"He's right," Tifa said. "We should help out before we go."

"I guess. I mean, I don't think we're anywhere near Midgar," Cloud agreed. "No point in rushing out, now."

The party began to follow Barret. For an instant, a sharp pain shot through Cloud's head, causing him to stumble. Cloud looked around in confusion, without a clue as to what caused the pain.

"Hey," Tifa said. "You okay?"

"Yeah…" Cloud answered.

Slotting Restore Materia, Red XIII and Yuffie approached a triage of wounded and began slowly closing wounds and healing bruises. Tifa and Cloud started helping to clear rubble and carrying survivors to safety. Barret had helped find the young girl's father, who was caught up in rescuing the wounded.

At sunset, the father of the girl Barret helped invited the group into their home to rest. It was a short walk from the temple, but Cloud and his friends could already see the difference their help had made.

"For those of you who I haven't met yet," the father said. "My name is Rou, and my daughter's name is Raina. I can't thank you all enough for taking care of her and helping our town."

He opened the front door of his house to his guests. Raina ran in and began to prepare tea for her new friends. They all crowded around the kitchen table, just beyond the front door. Rou brought in extra chairs and stools from other rooms for everyone to sit on.

"Barret was telling me about Marlene earlier," Rou said. "and the awful things that happened with you and where you come from. Midgar, was it? Not sure where that is, but I guess terrible things happen no matter where you go, huh."

"Speaking of which," Yuffie said. "We're not entirely sure where this place is. And by 'not entirely sure', I mean 'we have no idea'."

"Is that right? Well then," Rou said. "Welcome to Baaj: home of the great Aeon Cerberus… or at least it was until today."

"Was the Aeon what caused the incident at the dome?" Tifa asked.

"I believe it was," Rou said. "Since the beginning of this town, we worshiped the Fayth, and Cerberus would watch over and protect us. I suppose ever since the catastrophe at the Wutai temple, this was bound to happen here, too."

Cloud, Tifa, Red XIII, and Barret all looked at Yuffie.

"Uh, come again?" Yuffie said. "Wutai doesn't have a temple. Or an Aeon, or a Fayth, or anything like that."

"You must be mistaken, miss," Rou said.

"I'm not," Yuffie said. She lifted her bangs to show off her headband with the Wutai symbol etched in it. "I was _born_ in Wutai. It's where I'm from."

Rou looked at the headband for a moment. "Well, that _is_ the Wutai symbol," he said. "But that still doesn't change the fact that there's a temple there. Maybe you can go visit and see for yourself."

"Wait," Tifa said. "You mentioned there being some sort of catastrophe there? What happened?"

"Same thing that happened here," Rou answered. "Suddenly Wutai's Aeon appeared and tore the temple apart. That was two weeks ago. Word has it that several other temples have suffered the same fate. I was skeptical of all this until today."

"Are these attacks random?" Cloud asked.

"Attacks?" Rou said. "I'm sure this is all just some accident; a natural disaster."

"People are hurt, dying;" Cloud said. "These are attacks."

"Hmmm. I'm not sure I have an answer to that," Rou said, leaning back in his chair. "But like I said, visit Wutai in the West. By now they might have some of the answers you're looking for. It's at least a few days away by boat, though."

"Luckily, we've got something a little faster than a boat," Cloud said. "We should get going."

Cloud, Yuffie, Tifa, Red, and Barret got up and started towards the door.

"Thanks for inviting us in," Barret said. "You take care of your old man, Raina!"

As they walked away, Raina and Rou stood in their doorway waving at the group.

"Did we really have to leave like that, Cloud?" asked Tifa.

"We only stayed because we had nowhere to go," Cloud answered. "Now we have somewhere to go. Besides, Vincent and Cid have been waiting for us since we left the temple."

"Yeah, Cid's probably complained Vincent's ears off by now," Yuffie agreed. "Poor guy."

"Still, it seems like a rushed exit, Cloud." Red XIII chimed in. "What's on your mind?"

"I've got a feeling that these incidents at the temples aren't natural disasters," Cloud answered. "There's something bigger at work here, I think. Let's get back to the Shera."

"Ooh, sounds like our boy's gonna go on a tear!" Barret said excitedly.

"He really gets me going when he's like this," Tifa whispered to Yuffie, fanning herself.

"I know what you mean," Yuffie giggled.


	11. Chapter 11

Yuna, Tidus, Rikku, Paine, Lulu, and Kimahri stood outside the front of the temple as the sun was starting to set. They could see Cloud and his friends helping clear some of the rubble.

"I wonder why they don't want to work together, with us," said Yuna.

"They don't seem like heartless people," said Rikku, watching them.

"From their point of view," said Lulu. "We got in their way."

"Well, you can't please everybody, I guess," said Paine.

"But!" exclaimed Yuna. "What if we could please everybody?"

"Go on…" Paine said with an exhausted face.

"We need everyone to know that we can help," Yuna explained. "I know it was a rough start, but if we have enough people behind us; getting eyes and ears in all the right places, then when that Aeon shows up next time, we'll be there put it in it's place! We can get Shinra's CommSpheres going. What do you say?"

Tidus and Rikku cheered in excitement.

"That has got to be the most nonsensical, short-sighted, Yuna-plan I think you've ever had," said Paine. "It's bound to work. Where do we start?"

"We got to go where there are a ton of people," Tidus started. "Some sort of Luca or Bevelle-type place. I'll go ask around."

"Alright, but we don't even know where _this_ place is," Lulu said.

"Don't sweat the small stuff, Lulu!" Tidus said as he walked off toward the town.

"Our current location is not small stuff!" Lulu called, throwing her hands over her head. "Sometimes I wish I was that carefree, but then I remember that it comes a host of the other cognitive deficiencies he has."

"Come on, Lulu," Yuna laughed. "It's just optimism. Let's go, too."

"Not you, Yuna," Lulu interrupted. "I have a husband whose wounds need tending to. You and Kimahri go back to the Celsius. Rikku, Paine, and I will head off into the town."

"Right!" Yuna said, and she walked off to where the Celsius had landed with Kimahri.

Lulu, Rikku, and Paine walked down a path from the temple to the town, which had mostly been cleared of rubble. The three could see Cloud and his party leaving the area with a man and a young girl. They joined Tidus, who had been busy talking to some of the townsfolk.

"Hey!" Tidus said with excitement. "I got some crazy news. So apparently, this temple, the one we were just inside, is the Baaj temple. Or at least that's what it's called."

"Baaj temple?" asked Rikku. "As in, the same one I found you in when you came to Spira? This temple looks _nothing_ like the Baaj temple though."

"Right," Tidus agreed. "And the ruins were in the middle of the sea."

"There wasn't any water to be seen for miles around when we flew in," Paine added.

"It gets weirder still," Tidus continued. "I asked about like a capital city or whatever, and everyone told me to go to Bevelle."

"So, are we in Spira or not?" asked Lulu.

"You are definitely not in Spira," said a voice behind Lulu.

She, Rikku, Tidus, and Paine turned to face this voice. It belonged to a tall man with long silver hair and bright blue eyes. He wore a long black coat and carried an even longer sword. They stared in awe at this man for a moment.

"Well, Hiya!" Rikku finally said.

"You know about Spira then?" Tidus asked. "Where exactly are we?"

"I don't about your Spira," the man said. "But this place… is a very new and special place. It feels very strange; as if built from the broken pieces of other worlds to make something different."

"Uh-huh," nodded Tidus, pretending to understand him. "Well, we got to be going."

"I as well. The work here is done," said the man, and he walked away from the town.

"Stay safe!" Tidus called after him. "He seems like the kind of guy who's got a sweet theme song, like a blitzball player."

"Definitely," agreed Rikku. "With an orchestra!"

"Mmm-mmm, guitars," Tidus said.

"We should get back to the Celsius," Lulu interrupted. "That is if you two are done drooling."


	12. Chapter 12

After their meeting with Seymour, the SeeDs were led to the second level of the spire. There, they were given their own rooms and access to all sorts of personal facilities. Seymour remained in his quarters to fine tune his proposal for the SeeDs.

Quistis, Squall, Rinoa, Zell, Selphie and Irvine sat at a round table, in a common area just outside their personal rooms.

"So like," Zell said. "This job from Seymour is total bull, right? I mean, we haven't carried out our mission from Cid yet, and SeeDs don't normally just take requests themselves."

"You'll just outright tell him 'no', right?" asked Quistis.

"I can tell it's not going to be as simple as telling him 'no'," thought Squall. "We're lost, in the heart of a land controlled by Seymour, and who knows if he'll still be so nice if we decline."

"I think we can at least wait until we hear him out, though," Rinoa said.

"Do we really want to even humor the idea? He's the leader of this city," said Irvine. "Whatever he wants us to do is going to be a highly political job for this place."

"Yeah, not sure if we want to get caught up in it," agreed Selphie. "Especially if we don't understand the political landscape of this place."

Without saying a word, Squall stood up and walked across the common room to into his room.

"Oop. Looks like we broke him," said Selphie.

Squall looked around his room. Across from him was the bed, with a door to a balcony on either side. The balcony doors had white drapes hanging over them. The bed also had drapes surrounding it. The drapes and the bedding were the color of Seymour's robes. That made Squall uncomfortable.

On his right, there was a small round table with two chairs. On the left there was a tall mirror and a wardrobe. This threw off the symmetry that would have comforted Squall. He parted the drapes over one of the doors and walked out onto the balcony.

Leaning against the railing, Squall could see over all of Bevelle. The sun had set a few hours earlier. Lamps lit the streets, but to Squall's surprise there was no one out and about; the streets were completely deserted. He glanced over his shoulder to see Rinoa in the doorway, holding on to the drapes.

"You know you don't have to just stand there," Squall said. "You can come join me."

"I'm not so sure about that." Rinoa whispered.

"And why is that? And why are you whispering?" asked Squall.

"Well, you see, that is because… I am spying on you," Rinoa answered holding the drapes up to her eyes.

Squall turned to Rinoa and held out his hand to her. Unable to resist, Rinoa ran over and grabbed his arm. The two look out over the city.

"Looks like Bevelle's night life is pretty weak, huh?" Rinoa said.

"You'd think with a city this big, there'd be people out at any point in the night," Squall replied.

"Strange. I guess it shouldn't surprise us that a land where everybody worships sacred beings has strict curfew," said Rinoa. "So what do you think of Seymour and this whole situation?"

"Where do I start?" Squall sighed. "I don't know where we are. What I _do_ know is that we are guests of a man who controls everything as far as the eye can see. His continued favor probably depends on whether we decline or accept his job."

"Well," Rinoa said. "At least this is a nice place. We can enjoy it while it lasts."

"I don't think we can," Squall continued. "Why did Seymour take us in? It's not like he gives every new arrival a tour and a guest suite. Why us?"

"Good question," Rinoa said.

"Which leaves this mission of his. He's the leader of Bevelle, 'the heart of this land'. He's a powerful person here, what does he need SeeD for?" Squall asked.

"He only mentioned hiring us after hearing about the sorceress, didn't he?" Rinoa answered. "We should tell the others."

Rinoa and Squall walked out of their room into the common room where the rest of the SeeDs were. They were greeted by Seymour who had arrived to discuss his proposal.

"Ahh, we're finally all here," Seymour said. "I have your mission, my friends."

"Let's hear it then," Squall said.

"After hearing of your victory over your sorceress, I think I have a problem which you are uniquely qualified to solve," Seymour began. "You see, I also have a sorceress causing trouble. Lady Yuna must be stopped."

"Before we go on," Squall said. "I should preface that not all sorceresses are SeeD targets. Many of us were raised at an orphanage by a sorceress, whom we care about very dearly."

"I also had the powers of a sorceress at one point," Rinoa pointed out. "Sorceress Ultimecia threatened to destroy reality as we know it."

"It was more like a 'save the world' mission than settling a grudge," Zell added.

"I understand," Seymour said. "Desperate measures like these can only be justified by equally desperate times. I assure you, Lady Yuna is a force that will wipe out life on this land if she is allowed to go unchecked."

"What's so bad about her then?" Selphie asked.

"The Aeons I told you about," Seymour started. "They can be acquired by summoners. Lady Yuna is a powerful summoner, and she has used her power to attack several temples in the past two weeks. The temples in Wutai, Junon, Esthar, Bikanel, and Nibelheim, all suffered catastrophic damage. Many injured and killed. Lady Yuna took the Aeons and destroyed the Fayths."

"That's awful," Quistis said.

"And I just got word that the Baaj temple had the same visit from her earlier today," Seymour said. "Please. Many lives are in danger with her on the loose. Bevelle would be in your debt. Even more, _I_ would be in your debt."

Zell, Quistis, Irvine, Selphie, and Rinoa all looked at Squall for an answer.

"Seymour Guado… We accept," Squall said. "We will eliminate Lady Yuna."


	13. Chapter 13

Yuna kneeled with Wakka lying down in front of her. Her hands were glowing with a green light as they hovered over the cut along his chest. The cut slowly began to close. Wakka was resting on a bed in the cabin of the Celsius. Lounging next to him and Yuna were Lulu, Paine, Tidus, and Kimahri.

"So let me get this straight," Yuna said. "We were at the Baaj temple. _Not_ the Baaj temple in Spira. And we're going to Bevelle. But probably _not_ the Bevelle we know in Spira. And there was a man with a long-sword."

"Not a long-sword," interrupted Tidus. "It was a really _long_ sword."

"That's not the important part," Lulu said. "What is important is what we do once we get to Bevelle."

"Well if it's our Bevelle," said Wakka, sitting up. "Then we just show 'em our High Summoner here and they're bound to support her, ya."

"But what if it's not our Bevelle?" asked Paine.

"We win them over some other way," answered Wakka. "We'll have to see what we can do when we get there."

"Alrighty, folks!" Rikku said as she ran up the stairs to her friends. "Just came from the bridge; Brother and Buddy will let us know when we get to Bevelle. Or somewhere that looks like a 'Bevelle'."

"Great," said Yuna. "Is Shinra getting those CommSpheres ready in case we need them?"

"I think so," answered Rikku. "He was explaining something, but he lost me a few words, so I just started nodding until he stopped talking."

Kimahri let out a long yawn. "Kimahri rest now. Hard battle today."

"You said it," Wakka said, laying back down.

"I'm going to say up for a little while, get some fresh air," Yuna said standing up. She walked over to Tidus. "Care to join me?" she asked tilting her head slightly.

"Yeah sure, Yuna," Tidus said standing up.

The two walked down the stairs and took the Celsius's elevator to the deck. Yuna and Tidus walked to the front of the airship and sat down. Yuna let out a sigh.

"Crazy day, huh," Tidus said.

"No kidding," Yuna answered.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask," Tidus said. "Which Aeon did you see today? What exactly happened?"

"It wasn't one I recognized," said Yuna. "It was an enormous three-headed dog. Huge teeth, black fur and red eyes."

"Sounds scary," Tidus said.

"It was," Yuna answered. "But I have a feeling it was also scared. Not of me. Something was happening to it. I didn't know what, but neither did the Aeon. I felt bad for it."

Tidus lay down with his back on the deck of the Celsius. Yuna lay down with him.

"To be honest," Yuna said. "If we go after it, and we find it, I'm not sure I can go through with killing it. It's in pain, I know it."

"We'll do what we can," Tidus said. "And we'll do what we have to."

They continued to lie down for a few minutes.

"It's probably not safe to sleep out here, is it?" asked Tidus.

"Well, on the bright side," said Yuna. "If we did and fell off, we probably wouldn't wake up before we hit the ground."

"That's comforting. What do you say we head back inside?" said Tidus.

"I say we do that," Yuna answered, and they stood up to go to bed. Inside.


	14. Chapter 14

Cloud walked through the darkness. A chilling wind blew past. He began to look around in a panic, only to find himself all alone.

"Tifa? Barret?" He called softly, but he knew there was no one there to hear him.

Cloud wandered aimlessly, not even able to see his hands in front of his face.

"Keep going," he heard a voice say. "Yes, that's it. You're getting closer."

The voice was coming from all around him. Cloud felt it getting colder. He began to quicken his pace, until he was running.

"Almost there…" the voice said. "Okay, stop. Perfect."

"Where are you?" Cloud called, out of breath.

"Closer than you think, Cloud," answered the voice, followed by the sound of steel scraping against stone.

A pain shot through his head again, as if to split his brain in two. Cloud sat up, panting. He was lying in a cot, with Tifa next to him, in a cot of her own. His memory of what happened before going to sleep crept back to him: he was onboard the Shera, with his friends, on their way to Wutai, investigating a temple. He stood up to take a walk around the airship.

Cloud walked out of the storage room that he and Tifa occupied that evening. As he walked down the corridors, Cloud looked out a window. It was still the middle of the night. Flying above the clouds, the stars and moon were shining, however this did nothing to comfort him from his nightmare.

Entering the bridge of the Shera, Cloud could see Cid asleep in a chair behind the airship steering column, with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, and Vincent sitting against a window, looking down at the world.

"What are you doing awake, Cloud?" asked Vincent.

"I was woken up by a dream," Cloud answered. "What about you?"

"I've slept for thirty years, that's enough for me," Vincent said. "It was a nightmare."

"What was?" asked Cloud.

"Your dream: it was a nightmare," answered Vincent. "People don't roam around at night because they have a good dream. And for something to scare Cloud Strife away from sleep, it must be a real terror."

Cloud did not say anything to that. He looked down and away from Vincent.

"Sephiroth?" asked Vincent.

Cloud nodded. "He was running me around in the dark," he said. "I couldn't see, but I knew it was him. It was just a dream though."

"You have good instincts, Cloud. You should listen to what they have to say," Vincent said. "But if it was just a dream…"

"Your instincts tellin' you to shut yer trap?" Cid asked from the steering platform.

"If you're tired, then why don't you sleep in your cabin?" Cloud asked.

"I _usually_ sleep better out here," Cid answered. "Besides, if this were _your_ ship, you wouldn't leave it alone with Vincent."

"Um, why's that?" asked Cloud.

"You know what they say: 'never trust a shapeshiftin' man with red eyes, unless he's been huffin' somethin' funny'," answered Cid.

"Is that what they say?" asked Tifa, who was standing in the doorway.

"Yer damn right it's what they say!" yelled Cid. "At least on this ship… I mean… evenin'!"

"Yes, good evening to you, too," yawned Tifa. "Shame on you, Cloud, leaving me all alone. What's wrong? Was I snoring too loud?"

"No, it's nothing," Cloud said, avoiding eye contact.

Tifa looked at Vincent, who quickly went back to looking out the window. She looked back at Cloud.

"Alright. Then back to bed with you," Tifa said, walking up behind Cloud and pushing him out the door. "Goodnight. Try not to crash us."

"I won't let him," said Vincent and Cid at the same time.

Just outside their storage room, Tifa wrapped her arms around Cloud from behind, holding him tightly.

"I know you don't need to hear it for the millionth time, but should I say it anyway?" asked Tifa. "Anything on your mind, you-"

"I got Sephiroth on the brain," Cloud interrupted. "I don't know if it was the fight today or being around everyone again. Maybe it's my cells messing with me."

Cloud turned around and hugged Tifa back. "Thanks for being here for me. I know I don't say it often enough," Cloud said.

"You don't need to say it," Tifa replied.

Without breaking their embrace, the two walk themselves back into their room for the night.


	15. Chapter 15

In the morning, the Celsius hovered above Bevelle. The Gullwings and Yuna's guardians gathered on the bridge to behold the city. Buddy and Shinra were busily running their eyes over readings the ship was taking in.

"This certainly doesn't look like Spira's Bevelle," said Tidus started.

"Man, I'm beginning to not like this place," Rikku said. "Cities being called one thing and then ending up being another thing. This is confusing!"

"What do we know about his place so far?" Yuna asked.

"Well, scans show that the city is densely populated," Buddy began. "The streets have been empty since we showed up, but the buildings are packed with heat signatures."

"Guess they're not a fan of visitors," Paine said.

"And this big ugly tower… building… thing… What is that anyway?" Tidus asked.

"Not sure," Shinra answered, standing up in his chair. "It's made of some sort of dense material or something. Maybe it has a spell cast on it. Regardless, none of our signals are getting in there."

"Hold up," said Buddy. "The gates down there are opening, and we got six people walking through. What's the plan?"

"Fire at their feet!" Brother yelled. "Show them we are the ones in charge!"

"No!" Yuna shouted. "We're here to build trust! Not shoot holes in it!"

"Right! Listen to Yuna, everyone!" Brother commanded.

"They're just feeling us out," Yuna said. "Let's go down there and let them know what we're all about. Set us down, Brother. And NO shooting."

"Right, right, right," Brother said. "No shoot, no gun."

On the ground, Squall and his friends stood in the town square that they had arrived at just yesterday; only this time on the other side of the arrival, and much more nervous this time around.

The airship turned to face away from the spire and the hanger bay opened. There stood several figures, who jumped down to join the SeeDs in the open space. The ship returned to a safe distance. As they approached, Squall stepped out in front of his friends.

"Greetings," Yuna began. "My name is-"

"We know who you are," Squall interrupted. "It was a grave mistake coming here, Sorceress Yuna."

Yuna's guardians all bunched up, putting themselves between her and Squall.

Yuna clutched her staff. "What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"By order of Maester Seymour and the city of Bevelle," Squall announced, drawing his gunblade. "For the attacks on the temples, you will be put to death."

The rest of the SeeDs and the guardians drew their weapons as well.

"There's a lot about that sentence I didn't like," Tidus said.

"Maester Seymour? As in Seymour Guado? He's here?!" Wakka asked. "This place is getting more and more screwed up!"

"Change of plan everyone," Yuna said. "If Seymour is here, then our first priority is getting rid of him."

"Yuna, we can rush the gate," Tidus pointed past the SeeDs.

"Great," thought Squall. "Looks like we have to fight them _and_ protect Seymour."

"Zell, Irvine, and Rinoa, go inside and defend Seymour," ordered Squall. "Selphie and Quistis, we're making a direct attack on the sorceress."

"Now's our chance! Let's make a break for it!" yelled Lulu.

"Not so fast!" Squall yelled. "The sorceress goes no further. I'll make sure of it."

Paine and Rikku stepped forward to challenge Squall, Selphie, and Quistis, whose eyes were fixed on Yuna. Yuna turned to Tidus.

"You four go get Seymour," she said. "I'll be fine with Rikku and Paine."

"Alright," Tidus said softly. He turned to face Lulu, Wakka, and Kimahri. "You heard her, let's go!"

The four rushed off toward the gate to the spire, which Zell, Irvine, and Rinoa had already reached. Yuna adjusted her garment grid to her Gunner dressphere. As she changed, she, Rikku, and Paine formed their Gullwings pose.

"Y!"

"R-"

Paine shot out towards Squall and began to clash blades with him. Yuna aimed her guns at Quistis and fired. Quistis rolled out of the way, behind a planter on the side of the town square.

"Guys! What was that?!" Rikku cried. "Honestly, no style."

"I feel ya. Squall never lets us do group poses," said Selphie, following up by swinging her nunchaku at Rikku.

Panicked, Rikku parried Selphie, who had already begun to twirl her weapon for another attack. She could do nothing but back-step and defend herself from the flurry of strikes from Selphie.

Pieces of stone and brick sprinkled the area around Quistis, as she hid behind her planter, which was starting to grow smaller and smaller. Yuna stopped firing to reload.

"Come out with your hands up," Yuna warned. "Do it and I'll let you run. These things hurt a lot, you know."

"Guns hurt? Gee, I never would have guessed," said Quistis as she stood up, swinging her whip at Yuna.

Yuna leapt back, out of the whip's range and continued firing. Quistis retreated to behind her planter. Thinking fast, she grabbed a loose brick and threw it through the window of a storefront beside her, shattering it. She quickly dove through the opening.

Without a shot on Quistis, Yuna advanced to the window she had just jumped through. It was dark inside; Yuna couldn't see a thing. She heard the crack of Quistis's whip, followed by a large metal cooking pan being hurled out of the shop at her. Yuna managed to duck out of the way. More cooking supplies were flung at her. Yuna started to back up, shooting anything that got too close.

Quistis jumped back out of the store window, armed with her whip and a large cast-iron skillet as a shield. Stood up straight, Quistis was covered by the skillet from her shoulder to knee. Yuna fired two test shots at Quistis, who easily blocked them. A look of fear crept over Yuna's face.

Squall and Paine skillfully dueled, testing each other's swordplay. They both knew that the other was hiding their full strength, but Squall was also hiding the full functionality of his gunblade. The two clashed blades once more, bringing each other face to face.

"Nice sword," Paine said.

"Thanks. You have no idea," said Squall.

Paine reversed her grip on her sword, pulling it away as she sidestepped. Squall stumbled forward, into a roll. He crouched and instinctively covered his head with his gunblade just as Paine brought her sword down on Squall.

"Careful," said Paine. "I'll bet mistakes like that are what gave you that pretty scar."

Squall grit his teeth and pushed Paine backward.

"Well, I'm quick to learn from my mistakes," Squall said. "And by the way, I got him back."

Squall ran at Paine, dragging his sword on the ground. He slashed upward at Paine, who evaded; and jumped high into the air. Squall then brought his sword down. Paine blocked Squall's attack but the energy he gathered knocked her back and cracked the bricks underneath where she stood.


	16. Chapter 16

Tidus and Kimahri pushed open the giant doors leading into the spire. Other than the candlelight and the sun shining through the back windows of the room, it was rather dark. The three SeeDs they had followed were nowhere to be seen, but Tidus knew there were plenty of places they could be hiding. Wakka, Lulu, Kimahri, and Tidus slowly began to explore the room.

Suddenly, Irvine popped up from behind one of the pews on the far side of the room and took a shot at Wakka. He and Tidus ducked down behind the first set of pews, which now had a hole blasted through it. Lulu and Kimahri took cover behind stone pillars near the entrance.

"Rinoa!" Irvine called. "We got two behind the supports!"

Just then, Rinoa stood up from behind another pew and loaded her blaster-edge. Wings spread out from the disc as she fired it. It flew very quickly in a wide curve, over the heads of Tidus and Wakka, and made it's way toward Kimahri. Seeing this, Kimahri crouched down against his pillar, hearing the stone above him crumble and chip. Kimahri stood back up to see that there was a gash in the pillar where his head would have been. The disc continued to curve back to Rinoa, who caught it and loaded it back in.

"Psst!" whispered Wakka to Tidus, as Irvine continued taking shots at them. "I need a distraction, ya?"

Tidus nodded. He leapt over the pew and shouted, "Hey, ponytail! Nice hat! Does it come in men's?" and started vaulting in and out of cover, between shots.

Wakka held up his blitzball, which began to emit a shroud of black mist. Standing up, he wound back and threw it straight at Irvine. Irvine turned to it just in time to catch a glimpse of it, before he caught it directly in the face. The force flipped him backward over a couple of rows of pews.

Starting to make her way over to where Irvine landed, Rinoa shot her blaster-edge straight at Wakka. He ducked his head down, while Lulu jumped out from behind her pillar shooting a ball of fire at Rinoa, burning her disc to a crisp on the way by. The fireball hit the stage just behind Rinoa, who was thrown clear from the impact. Lulu, Kimahri, Wakka, and Tidus all ran down the middle of the room between the rows of pews.

Zell emerged from behind a stone pillar. Smiling, he looked up at the chandelier above the guardians. The chandelier was held up by a chain, connected to Zell's pillar as a counterweight.

At the top of his lungs, Zell screamed, "WHOO!" and punched the stone pillar as hard as he could, destroying it entirely and loosening the chandelier's chain. Tidus, Lulu, Kimahri, and Wakka looked up at the falling chandelier. The four bailed in different directions as it came crashing down.

Tidus picked himself up and shook his head to regain composure. He looked up to see Zell with a big, wide grin on his face. Zell picked Tidus up by the collar and proceeded to suplex him, forcefully dropping Tidus through a pew. Standing up, Zell saw Wakka lift himself out from between two pews. Zell picked up half of the bench he had just put Tidus through, and hurled it at Wakka.

Wakka dove out of the path of the pew. It kept going and knocked Lulu to the back of the room, laying her flat against the wall.

"Sorry, Lu!" called Wakka.

Irvine stumbled to his feet. The mist from Wakka's blitzball had now fogged his eyes. Rinoa came running over to him.

"Irvine, are you okay?" she asked.

"It's hard to see. I'm not going to be a whole lot of use to you guys," Irvine answered.

"Don't worry," Rinoa said. "I've got an idea."

Zell jumped into the air and attacked Wakka, who held up his blitzball to block the punches. Landing beside him, Zell unleashed a furious barrage of punches and kicks. The only thing Wakka could do was hide behind his ball. Winding up for a heavy punch, Zell felt someone grip his hand. He looked back to see Kimahri towering over him. Kimahri lifted Zell over his head with both arms.

"Drop him," commanded Rinoa.

Kimahri, Wakka, and Zell all looked to the front of the room to see Rinoa aiming Irvine with his gun in hand. Kimahri roared at Rinoa, who fired at him. Kimahri was knocked through the bench he stood in front of, dropping Zell. Wakka threw his ball at Rinoa and Irvine, but she adjusted her aim and blasted it back at him, knocking him down.

"Zell, let's keep going!" Rinoa called, leading Irvine by the arm. The three SeeDs retreated to the elevator behind the stage.


	17. Chapter 17

"You know, with skills like that," Paine said. "You could probably be more than assassins."

"We're not assassins," Squall answered. "We're mercenaries. This just happens to be a specific order to kill the sorceress. And what about you? Hanging out with a murderer, what exactly is your job?"

Paine looked around at her comrades. Rikku was stumbling over her scarf in the middle of her fight and Yuna was being chased by a woman wielding a giant skillet.

"Any other day, I'd have an answer, but at this moment I have no idea," Paine said.

"Hey! Let up, why don't ya?" Rikku cried, desperately blocking with her daggers.

"What's wrong?" laughed Selphie. "Afraid to take your lumps?"

"You're awful!" Rikku shouted. "You're just a big… MEANIE!"

Selphie stopped in her tracks. Her shoulders and head sunk.

"I. Am. Not. A. MEANIE," Selphie screamed with fire in her eyes.

No longer swinging her nunchaku, Selphie rushed at Rikku and pounced, knocking her to the ground. Sitting on top of Rikku, Selphie began slamming the length of her nunchaku down. Rikku held her daggers up to her face to protect herself.

Watching the chain of the nunchaku, Rikku swiped at it with her dagger. It caught the chain and Rikku dug it into the ground next to her, pinning Selphie's weapon. While Selphie was distracted, Rikku used her free hand to punch Selphie in the face with the hilt of her dagger, knocking her off of Rikku.

Selphie sat on the ground holding her cheek, looking at Rikku with complete shock in her eyes. Rikku shot up and into her fighting stance.

"Ha! How do you like that!" Rikku said.

"You," Selphie gasped. "Are a savage…"

"That's what you get for going after Yunie!" Rikku taunted.

Selphie slowly stood up. Her face became blank and her stare empty. She began to swing her nunchaku above her head, almost in ceremony.

"Uh, hey. Can you stop that?" Rikku asked nervously. "It's really ominous, and frankly, haunting."

"This is the end for you, face-puncher," Selphie said.

As Selphie's weapon spun faster, streaks of lightning, ice, fire, and water began striking the ground around her.

"W-what are you going to do?" Rikku asked.

"Even _I_ don't know what's about to happen," Selphie smiled.

Across the battlefield, Quistis chased after Yuna.

"Get back here!" yelled Quistis.

Yuna stopped running and turned around to face Quistis.

"Alright, Yuna. No fear," she said to herself.

Yuna raised her pistols and ran straight at Quistis, firing at her. Quistis crouched down, taking cover behind her enormous skillet. Approaching Quistis, Yuna used the skillet as a springboard, flipping high in the air. She continued firing down upon Quistis.

Reacting fast, Quistis used her whip to grab Yuna by her ankle and pulled her down, slamming her against the ground. Still holding on to her, Quistis followed up with swinging Yuna around, throwing her into a nearby brick wall.

Seeing Yuna being tossed around, Paine became serious. She held one hand above her head, focusing her energy.

"Fair warning: I'm not holding back anymore," Paine said.

"Bring it on," Squall said.

Paine ran up to Squall and brought her sword down on him. Squall managed to fully block her attack, but upon impact, he felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. His muscles felt tired and overworked, as if he was wiped of all his energy.

"What did you just do to me?" Squall panted.

"Power Break," said Paine. "A basic move from back home. This fight's over for you."

Paine proceeded to relentlessly hammer her sword down against Squall's as beating him into submission. When she could see that Squall was down, nearly lying on his back, Paine eased up. Squall pointed his blade at her, barely able to hold it up.

"I don't need to kill you," Paine warned. "Get out of my way."

Squall pulled the trigger on his gunblade unleashing a blastwave on Paine, knocking her flat on her back.

"Guess they don't have that back home," Squall chuckled.


	18. Chapter 18

Cloud and his party stood at the entrance to a bustling town surrounded by jungle on both sides.

"Uh, Cid? Are you sure we're in the right place?" asked Yuffie.

Cid smacked the back of Yuffie's head. "This is the best damn pilot _slash_ navigator on the planet you're talkin' to, missy!" Cid scolded.

"So, this is Wutai?" Barret asked.

"How the hell should I know?" said Cid, lighting a cigarette.

"Things certainly look calmer than in Baaj," said Cloud. "Let's look around."

They all began to walk the streets observing the town and its people. The townspeople appeared to be in the middle of a daily routine: washing clothing and fabrics in a stream; gardening and harvesting vegetables.

There also appeared to be activity of restoration. Banners and clothing were being woven, forges crowded with blacksmiths creating all sorts of metalwork, different lengths of wooden planks being transported along with bricks and stone, all being carried further all over town.

Tifa approached a group of people weaving fabrics.

"Excuse me," she asked. "Can you point me and my friends in the direction of the temple?"

"Oh, I'm not sure they'd want visitors right now," a man said.

"That area's still under construction. Only people repairing the temple and bringing supplies are allowed there," another man said.

"Please, it's very important," Tifa insisted.

"Sorry. We're just not able to help out tourists today," the first man said.

"Unless… Are you the ones bringing aid from Bevelle?" a woman asked excitedly.

"You bet we are!" Yuffie butted in. "We got some big plans for the temple: wider halls, bigger prayer spaces – way more comfortable, trust me – new and improved structure support, the works!"

The weavers gasped and chattered in excitement. The woman stood up and took Yuffie by the hand, nearly dragging her.

"Why didn't you say so? Please! Come right this way!" she said.

Yuffie turned to her friends as she was dragged away with a big grin plastered on her face.

"Is there a Silver Tongue Materia I don't know about?" asked Red XIII.

Cloud and the others followed the lady, who pushed through crowds of people to make way for them. Vincent walked at Cloud's side.

"This definitely isn't the Wutai we know," he said. "But do you notice something?"

"What is it?" asked Cloud.

"The buildings' architecture, the clothing of the people; nothing about it says 'Wutai'," Vincent answered. "The name 'Wutai' refers to their 5 sacred gods and mountain peaks. Why would this place have that name without those?"

"That's a good question, Vincent," Cloud said. "I'm not sure what it means for us though."

"Just something to think about, I guess," said Vincent.

Soon enough, the party had arrived at the edge of a cliff. At the bottom, the jungle continued on. There was, however, a path leading to a clearing. There lay the temple. Unlike the temple in Baaj, this temple appeared to have one level. There were also many corners and angles in the architecture. The center of the temple's roof had collapsed and scaffolding had been built in and around the structure.

Cid led out a whistle. "Talk about a fixer upper, huh," he said.

"I know," their guide said. "I can't wait to see what you do with it!"

"Ha ha. Yeah. Right," Cid said.

The cliff had a path leading down to the temple. All the building supplies from the town were being transported down this road. Cloud and his friends walked along the path until they reached the bottom of the cliff and approached the temple.

When the party arrived at in front of the temple, they could see that large stone pillars lined the outside. There appeared to be no outer walls, making the temple accessible from any side. Beyond the pillars were inner walls, sectioning off rooms within the temple. Between each room were hallways that created a catacomb inside the building.

"Wait here," the weaver said. "I'll fetch the temple elder. He'll be better suited to speak to you."

The woman walked into the temple, disappearing into the hallways. A man carrying a tall stack of fabrics, obstructing his sightline walked towards the temple and passed by Cloud. As he walked by, he tripped over Red XIII, dropping his stack. On the ground, a large banner unrolled at the feet of the party. The design depicted a white unicorn, whose mane formed a thunderbolt shape.

"I'm so sorry. Is your dog alright?" the man asked.

"I'm not a dog," Red answered. "And I'm alright. Thank you for asking."

Completely befuddled, the man sat there staring at Red XIII, not quite able to process this interaction.

"Umm… well as long as we're both okay…" the man finally said. "I should collect these things."

Barret and Tifa helped the man gather his banners. He thanked them and carefully continued walking into the temple. Just then, another man emerged from the temple. The elder was bald and wore fine robes colored in white, black, and light blue. The party was approached by the man, who was smiling excitedly.

"Welcome, welcome, my friends," the elder said. "I am elder Zander. I take it you are the group that's come to help us rebuild?"

"You bet we are!" said Yuffie. "Bellville sends it's sympathies."

"You mean Bevelle?" asked Zander.

"Yup. That's what I said," Yuffie answered. "So let's get to it. How about you show us around?"

"Certainly," Zander said. "We'll start by touring the outside. Right this way."

"Actually," Cloud interrupted. "Show us the damage. Where was the Aeon?"


	19. Chapter 19

Yuna and Rikku both watched in horror as Paine was blasted onto her back.

"Yunie!" Rikku cried. "We have to get over to her!"

"You'll have to go through me to do that," Quistis said to Yuna.

Yuna holstered one of her guns and loaded the other with a pink magazine with "heavy" written on it in marker.

"Then I'm going through you," Yuna said, pointing her gun at Quistis.

Quistis held up her skillet in response. Yuna shot directly at the center of her shield. The impact of the bullet was much more powerful than before. It slid Quistis backward a foot and made a large dent in the skillet.

Grinning, Yuna continued firing at Quistis, pushing her farther and farther backward. They could both see that the skillet was approaching it's breaking point. With the last bullet in the magazine, Yuna fired, shattering Quistis's shield and knocking her on her back.

"Stay down," Yuna said.

Yuna took her chance to run towards Paine. Suddenly, Yuna's foot caught on something and she fell to the ground, dropping her pistol out of reach. She looked behind her to see Quistis, still on the ground, with her whip wrapped around Yuna's ankle.

"Don't turn your back on me, sorceress!" Quistis snapped.

Yuna turned over and drew her holstered pistol. Quistis released Yuna from her whip and quickly snatched the gun from Yuna's hands, tossing it aside.

Selphie stood between Rikku and Paine. She continued swinging her nunchaku above her head, conjuring streaks of random elements around her.

"Alright, bring it, punk!" Rikku yelled, pumping her fists against her chest.

Rikku dashed toward Selphie, who swung her weapon in a pitching motion, shooting a bolt of lightning. Rikku managed to sidestep the lightning.

"Know what's faster than lightning?" said Rikku.

Spinning her nunchaku around her body, Selphie shot a second streak of lightning at Rikku. Rikku slid underneath the lightning and between Selphie's legs. Before Selphie could turn around, Rikku stood up and knocked her forward with the palm of her hand.

"The hands of a master thief!" Rikku answered.

"What, did you take something?" Selphie asked, searching her pockets.

"You didn't have anything good," answered Rikku. "So I left you a little present."

Selphie pulled something from her back pocket. She opened her hand to find a small, icy-blue crystal. Suddenly, bursts of cold wind and frost began shooting out of the gem, striking and surrounding Selphie. She fell to her knees, shivering. Selphie's teeth chattered as she tried to speak.

"What's that?" asked Rikku, walking over. "Couldn't hear you over the sound of your butt getting kicked!"

"I s-said," Selphie shivered. "Rule of three, dummy."

Selphie poked Rikku with the tip of her nunchaku, blasting her with a third bolt of lightning. Rikku was launched through the air, landing and rolling near Paine.

Yuna switched her garment grid back to her summoner dressphere. Seeing her change, Quistis struck at Yuna with her whip, unsure of what was happening. As Yuna's wand materialized, she caught Quistis's whip and pulled herself to her feet. Quistis grabbed at Yuna's wand, trying to rip it from her grasp.

"Looks like it's just you now, sorceress," Quistis said.

"Stop calling me that," Yuna said. "I have a name… It's Yuna!"

Yuna head-butted Quistis and struck her in the face with her wand, knocking her down. Yuna ran over to Paine and Rikku.

"Hey! Hang in there, you guys," Yuna said to them. "I'll protect you."

"Enough!" Squall shouted. "A murderer like you doesn't need to pretend to care about her pawns anymore."

Having regained some of his strength, Squall stood up. Selphie and Quistis, although battered, approached Squall's side.

"You rely on them to do your fighting, your dirty work," Squall said. "The three of us make each other strong. That's why we've won, and that's why your killing spree is over."

"I defeated Sin. I defeated Vegnagun. I brought Spira its eternal Calm," Yuna said softly. "And it's all thanks to my friends! I don't know who you are, or what your quarrel is with me, but if you think for a second that I wouldn't give my life for my friends, then you've underestimated me!"

Yuna held her wand in front of her with both hands. She began to glow a bright white. From behind her, large petals of light wrapped around Yuna and lifted her into the air. After a moment, the petals unraveled, revealing Yuna in her new form.

She wore a dress made of pure light, her hair had turned a pale white, and she hovered in the air with her petals spread like wings. Three pulsing orbs of light floated above Yuna's head.

"Umm, would I be wrong in saying that she looks real pretty right now?" Selphie asked.

"Do I have to remind you that all the bad guys who change forms get progressively more dangerous?" Quistis said.

"Good point," Selphie replied. "Does anyone have any super secret GFs they'd like to share?"

"I wish," thought Squall. "I don't think any of us have been able to use GF since we got here."

"We'll just have to make do without them," Squall said. "Let's take her down."

Squall jumped high in the air and swung his gunblade at Yuna, pulling the trigger and unleashing a blast of flame. When the fire cleared, Squall could see Yuna protecting herself with some sort of barrier magic. She snapped her fingers and from her fingertips blew a whirlwind of petals, pushing Squall through the wall of a nearby shop.

"Quistis!" yelled Selphie. "Let's hit her with the Mega Flower Spin!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Quistis called back.

"The move! _Our_ move!" Selphie yelled.

Quistis grabbed Selphie's arm with her whip and began spinning her around. While gaining speed, Selphie spun her own weapon furiously. Giving each other a nod, Quistis released Selphie, sending her flying directly at Yuna. Struggling to protect herself from Selphie's attacks, Yuna was forced backward, but Selphie closed the distance as fast as Yuna could make it.

"Burn!" Selphie screamed as her nunchaku erupted in flames. "Burn, beautiful flower witch!"

With a tremendous swing of her nunchaku, Selphie hit Yuna with a fireball, exploding on impact and sending her crashing to the ground.

"Woo-hoo!" cheered Selphie. "Score one for the Mega Flower Spin!"

"We're not calling it that!" Quistis shouted. "And we're not done yet!"

Just then, Yuna floated back into the air. She held out her palms and out flew a river of petals. They moved across the ground like a fluid towards Rikku and Paine. The two were picked up and cradled over to Yuna, where she laid them down.

"I spot a few weeds that need to be removed," Yuna said.

Her hands began to glow like the surface of the sun. With grand lifting motions, Yuna cast explosive Flare spells beneath the feet of Selphie and Quistis, as if pulling them out of the ground.

Franticly trying to evade the attacks, Quistis used her whip to pull herself to higher ground on the rooftops. Selphie scrambled on the ground, being pelted with bits of stone and debris.

"Waaah!" Selphie wailed. "This isn't even flower-themed!"

"Quistis! Get ready to help Selphie!" Squall called from the rooftop across the street.

Squall jumped off the roof, spinning his gunblade around him. A wave of energy flew from Squall's blade. Turning her attention to Squall, Yuna conjured another barrier to protect herself, but the force pushed her back, slamming her against the outer walls and windows of the buildings behind her. Broken glass and bricks rained down from the impact.

Quistis jumped off the roof and ran to pick Selphie up. Squall joined the two in the street.

"Man," Selphie panted. "She's just full of surprises!"

"Tell me about it," said Quistis. "She head-butted me. She _head-butted_ me!"

"And the loud one just straight up socked me in the face!" Selphie squealed.

"Her attacks are ramping up," Squall said. "I'd say we've got her worried."

As she lay against the buildings, the petals protruding from Yuna's back began to wilt in fatigue. Despite that, she hovered over to Paine and Rikku, and put herself between them and the SeeDs. Seeing this, Rikku and Paine began to stand up.

"We should be the ones protecting you, Yuna," Rikku said.

"Or at the very least hurt them back for hurting you," said Paine.

The two stepped in front of Yuna and began to glow. From Rikku's hands, pieces of metal formed into an exoskeleton, which in turn grew arms of its own. Behind the arms, sprouted a tail that lifted Rikku's body onto it's back.

From behind, Paine's arms and legs became fused with a large body extension, taking the form similar to a bird. She stood upon long blade-like legs. At each arm, Paine had wings made up of a series of long, razor-sharp blades. Above her head, more blades in the ironic shape of a halo.

"We may be willing to die for each other," Paine said. "But we'll settle for crushing you."

"Are you flipping serious?!" Selphie yelled. "What, are they _all_ sorceresses?"

"Magic? Tech? What exactly are we looking at here?" Quistis asked.

"You two stand back," Squall said, pointing his sword to the sky.

The gunblade began to glow a pale blue until the light took on a shape of its own. The blade of light grew in size, larger and larger.

"He's up to something, you guys," Yuna said to Rikku and Paine. "Let's end this. One last charge."

Yuna, Rikku, and Paine made a mad dash towards Squall, who started bringing his blade down. Rikku launched missiles from her mount, Paine charged in with her wings pointed forward, and Yuna's hands glowed with Flare energy; all collided with Squall's attack, creating a blinding light and a force that shook the ground.


	20. Chapter 20

Rinoa, Zell, and Irvine exited the elevator into Seymour's meeting room. Seymour was there, sitting behind his desk.

"Yo! Seymour, uh, sir!" Zell said. "Lady Yuna's here. She's sent a group up here after you. Squall sent us to keep you safe."

"Oh, that's hardly necessary," Seymour said. "But if those are your orders, then I won't stop you. Come; follow me to a more defensible place."

Seymour stood up and led the SeeDs through the doors behind him. The next area was an enormous room with a very high ceiling. Unlike the meeting room, this was completely bare of furnishings. At the far side of the room were another set of double doors.

"How're your eyes, Irvine?" Rinoa asked, no longer leading him.

"A bit better, but still not great," Irvine answered. "Man, I was always told I'd go blind, but for a completely different reason."

"I hope this room is spacious enough for you to work," Seymour said. "I shall retire to my study, just beyond these doors."

Just then, Tidus, Lulu, Wakka, and Kimahri burst into the room. Rinoa, Zell, and Irvine quickly put themselves between them and Seymour.

"There you are, you creep!" Tidus said.

"Hello again," Seymour said. "I was hoping that Lady Yuna would be able to grace me with her presence. That's a shame."

"We're more than enough to take you down," said Wakka.

"As much as I'd like to test that, these three have orders to prevent that from happening," Seymour said as he opened the doors to his study. "Farewell."

Seymour closed the doors behind him. The three SeeDs lined up shoulder to shoulder.

"Do you even have any idea of what kind of man Seymour Guado is?" asked Lulu.

"You really willing to die for a dead man?" Tidus followed up.

"He's not dying on our watch," said Zell, popping his knuckles.

"That's not what I mean," Tidus said.

"Do these guys seriously not know?" Wakka asked.

"What are you talking about?" Rinoa asked. "What's going on?"

"Seymour Guado is unsent," said Kimahri. "He rejects death."

"Seymour's dead. I mean, he's literally not a living person," Tidus said. "We've fought him a bunch of times, but he clings to this world. He's dangerous."

"You're crazy," Irvine declared. "So if you're done talking, we should get back to kicking your-"

"Group meeting!" Rinoa yelled. "Huddle up!"

Rinoa, Zell, and Irvine turned away from Tidus, Lulu, Wakka, and Kimahri, and formed a circle.

"Does she mean us, too?" Tidus asked.

"Nope," said Rinoa, over her shoulder. "SeeDs only."

"Uh, what are we doing?" asked Irvine.

"Yeah, we should be focusing on these chumps," said Zell.

"I'm having second thoughts on this whole mission, you guys," Rinoa said.

"Dude, we can't be having second thoughts about our orders. We're SeeDs, remember?" Zell answered. "Think about what Squall would say."

"I _am_. If what they're saying about Seymour is true, how would Squall feel about the mission?" Rinoa asked. "These guys and Seymour seem to have some history, and honestly, I feel like we haven't been given the whole story here."

"SeeDs aren't supposed to let their feelings get in the way of their orders, Rinoa," Irvine said. "…but I hear what you're saying. This isn't a typical mission."

"Exactly!" whispered Rinoa. "We should really see what the others think."

"Okay, but what do we do in the meantime?" asked Zell. "We just let them march in there and kill Seymour?"

"That's a good point," Irvine said. "Man, we're in a bit of a bind."

"I got an idea!" said Zell, walking towards Seymour's study. "Let's just clear this up right now."

"Zell, I'm not sure that's the answer," Rinoa said.

"Relax," Zell assured her, knocking on the doors.

Zell's knock was answered by the entire wall, including the doors, crashing in on him. He quickly pushed the doors and rubble off of himself. Standing over him was a giant monster with a Ω symbol on its chest. The creature was black and silver, with four hind legs, a long tail, and two front arms complete with razor-sharp claws. Its face had no distinguishable eyes and wore a large headdress.

Zell squeaked in surprise. "Oh-"

"-Mega," Tidus said.

"Seymour? Is that you?" asked Zell.

"That's not him! Get back!" yelled Tidus, grabbing Zell by the collar and lifting him to his feet.

Tidus and Zell managed to retreat to their teams just as Omega Weapon stepped down where they had stood. It let out a monstrous roar that shook the room.

"What do you say we put this squabble of ours aside for the time being?" asked Rinoa.

"Agreed," answered Lulu.


	21. Chapter 21

Omega Weapon swiped at the SeeDs and the guardians with its claws. Lulu, Kimahri, Tidus and Wakka leapt backward. Rinoa, Irvine, and Zell jumped high in the air. Irvine began pumping lead into Omega. Zell back-flipped, landing against the wall and pushed off; firing straight at Omega. He unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks, all of which Omega Weapon blocked. It struck Zell against a wall with the back of its hand.

Lulu began casting spells of fire, water, ice, and lightning, and shot them off at Omega all at once. All the spells hit it in the face and Omega reeled in pain. Turning its attention to Lulu, Omega Weapon's headdress began to glow and countered her attack by firing concentrated lasers in her direction. Upon impact, the lasers began exploding all around Lulu, who was lifted out of danger by Kimahri.

"Looks like it doesn't enjoy your magic, ya?" Wakka called out.

"Then we might have a way to take it down," Lulu answered. "As long as we don't get blasted after."

Rinoa loaded her blaster edge with a large cartridge of discs. She approached Omega's side and began firing them into its side. As if by reflex, Omega swatted her with its tail, knocking her into Tidus. To avoid being stepped on, Tidus and Rinoa picked themselves up and ran underneath Omega Weapon.

Having to duck his head to move under Omega, Tidus began slashing at its underside. Omega Weapon let out a piercing shriek, and dropped onto its belly to protect itself, forcing Rinoa and Tidus out from underneath.

"Its belly!" shouted Rinoa. "Its belly is the weak point!"

"Okay, then. What's the plan?" asked Irvine.

"We need to expose its underside," said Tidus. "Surround it!"

Standing in front of Omega, Lulu once again began blasting it with streaks of elements. Learning from her first attack, Omega Weapon lifted its arms to protect itself.

Running up the wall, Tidus called out to Wakka. "Hey! I'm open!"

Wakka set him up, throwing his blitzball into the air. Tidus pushed off the wall and bicycle-kicked the ball, striking Omega across the face. There to rebound it, Wakka caught the ball and threw it straight back Omega, knocking it off balance.

"Hey, big guy," Rinoa said to Kimahri. "Give a girl a lift?"

Kimahri picked Rinoa up and the two jumped on Omega's back. Together, they started striking from behind. Omega Weapon's tail began to flex in preparation to defend itself. Seeing this, Zell jumped and grabbed the tail, pulling it down with all his might. Zell struggled to keep it under control.

"We need to get it on its back," Tidus said.

"Leave it to me," said Irvine. "I could use a boost though."

Locking arms, Irvine and Tidus jumped into the air. Tidus swung and threw Irvine up higher, next to Omega's head. Landing on its face, Irvine began unloading his gun, point-blank into the monster. This forced Omega Weapon to straighten out, standing on its two back legs. Rinoa and Kimahri slid off of its back.

Zell pulled as hard as he could, dragging Omega's tail between its legs. Omega Weapon finally fell backward onto its back, exposing its soft underbelly. Kimahri, Tidus, and Wakka all jumped on the beast's stomach and wound up for a killing blow. Kimahri lunged his lance into Omega, causing it to frantically flail its arms and legs. Wakka and Tidus were swatted away, and Kimahri was thrown clear, with his lance stuck in Omega Weapon.

"We're almost done! One last push!" Rinoa cheered.

Eyeing the situation, Zell leapt into the air and brought his heel down on the top of Kimahri's lance thrusting it straight through Omega Weapon. Letting out one final shriek, Omega began disintegrating, leaving no remains.

Once everyone had caught their breath, they all remembered what they were doing before they were interrupted. They approached what was once the door to Seymour's study. Peering in through the massive hole in the wall, they could all see that Seymour was gone.

"Where'd he go?" Zell asked.

"I don't see any windows or doors out of here," Rinoa said.

"He doesn't exactly need those things to get around," Lulu said. "It looks like he escaped."

"So where does that leave us?" Wakka asked.

"Well, officially…" Rinoa said. "Seymour is not in danger. Whether or not that's a good thing remains to be seen, but we have no reason to fight you anymore."

"Well, I'll take it," said Irvine.

"We must return to Yuna," said Kimahri.

"Oh, right," Zell said. "Squall might still be trying to kill her… if he hasn't already."

"Don't say things like that," said Wakka. "Come on, let's go!"

The seven of them backtracked through the spire and outside.


	22. Chapter 22

"This is where the chamber of the Fayth was," Zander said as he led Cloud and his party into a clearing in the temple.

Just as it appeared from the outside, the roof had collapsed when the Aeon broke free. All the rubble had since been removed and scaffolding had been set up around the edge of where the roof caved in. In what appeared to be the epicenter of the damage area, Cloud crouched down and ran his hands along the ground. He was knelt in a small crater similar to the one he saw in the Baaj temple. As he examined the ground, Cloud noticed a distinct difference between the stonework around the edge of the crater and the center.

"I'm guessing this is where the Fayth was?" asked Cloud.

"Yes," answered Zander. "Approximately where you are."

"Hey, Cloud," Barret called. "Check this out."

Cloud approached Barret, who was examining a nearby wall. There was a blackened starburst pattern on it.

"What have we here?" asked Cloud.

"Scorch marks," Barret answered.

"What caused this? Fire?" Cloud asked.

"I don't think so," said Barret. "I saw a banner that guy dropped outside the temple. It had a picture of a thunder pony or horse or something."

Cloud began walking around the area, examining the surrounding walls. They all appeared to have scorch marks just like the one Barret found.

"Was anyone hurt by the Aeon?" Cloud asked.

"No," answered Zander. "I was the only one in the temple at the time. It was in the middle of the night."

"That's interesting," Vincent said softly, also examining the walls. "Did you see the Aeon with your own eyes?"

"I did," said Zander. "But what does this have to do with the reconstruction of the temple?"

"We'll ask the questions around here!" said Yuffie, pointing at Zander. "I mean… we need to know these things to best improve the temple's structural integrity," she said, correcting herself.

"The Aeon of this temple is a lightning horse?" Cloud asked. "What was it doing when you saw it?"

"It's a unicorn," Zander began. "And it was kicking and flailing like a wild bronco, shooting lightning from its horn. I didn't stay long, though; far too dangerous."

"No one to attack, but still it goes crazy," Cloud said to himself, turning away. "What in the world caused this?"

"You said the temple was empty," Vincent said. "So there was no one else around?"

"Well, now that you mention it," Zander said. "When I went to get help, I saw a man outside the temple, on his way back to town. I called out to him, but he walked off."

"What did the man look like?" asked Tifa.

"Okay, now I'm sure this has nothing to do with the repairs," Zander said.

"Answer us, Zander!" Vincent said, approaching him. "This could be more important than a few bricks."

"How dare you!" Zander said, clearly offended. "If it's really that important, I didn't even see him that well; he was pretty far away. All I saw was that he had long hair and carried a walking stick or a staff or something. It was really long."

"Could it have been a sword?" asked Cloud.

"Maybe," answered Zander.

A silence fell over the group.

"I have a question, Elder Zander," said Red XIII. "Do you have a map?"

"Of course," answered Zander.

"Can I borrow it?" asked Red. "And a marker, or pen, or something to write with?"

"Not until we get something clear," Zander said. "You're not here to repair the temple are you?"

"We're not," Red answered. "We lied. I'm sorry. But what we _are_ here to do is prevent this from happening again."

"Red XIII, are you sure we can do that?" asked Tifa.

"No," he answered. "But I'm following a hunch."

"Follow me to my quarters," Zander said.

They all followed Zander deeper into the temple, towards the rear of the building. They entered a dark room lit by candles sitting on a desk in the center. The walls were covered by shelves and shelves packed books. More books were stacked on the floor and on chairs all over the room.

"Sorry, it's a bit of a mess," Zander said, approaching a shelf.

"Yeah, just a bit," said Yuffie.

Zander pulled a map from a shelf, unfolded it, and placed it on his desk. Red XIII climbed into Zander's chair and looked at the map. Zander placed a pen in front of Red.

"Thank you, Zander." said Red XIII. "Now, can you point out our location?"

Zander pointed at the map. Red picked up the pen in his mouth and marked where Wutai temple was.

"Next, can you point out the other temples in the _order_ that these incidents with the Aeons occurred?" Red asked.

"Okay. That would be Bikanel, Esthar, Nibelheim, and Junon," said Zander, pointing to the locations as he listed them.

Red XIII marked them as Zander pointed them out. "Plus Baaj," said Red. "Are there any _other_ temples? Attacked by its Aeon or otherwise?"

"Just Balamb temple," said Zander, pointing to the map, where Red XIII then marked.

After staring at the map for a moment, Red XIII drew one final line connecting the temples. Zander's eyes widened.

"Oh my," he said.

"Cid," Red finally said. "Please prepare the airship. We'll be right behind you."

"Ha! Finally! I was getting bored," Cid said, and left the room.

"Did your hunch pan out?" asked Cloud, picking up the map.

"I think so," answered Red. "Either that or this pattern is one _hell_ of a coincidence."

Everyone looked at the map. The locations of the temples were plotted and connected in a spiral pattern. Wutai temple at the beginning and Baaj temple at the end, with only one temple left.

"We are going to Balamb temple, my friends," Red XIII said.


	23. Chapter 23

"Squall! Hey! Open your eyes!"

Squall felt himself being cradled and shaken. He opened his eyes to see Rinoa leaning over him. He reached up and touched her face. She smiled for a moment and then her face became more serious.

"Yes. It's me. Hello. We have problems right now," Rinoa said.

Remembering the situation just before he passed out, Squall began to sit up.

"Where's the sorceress?" asked Squall.

"Yeah, about that," Rinoa said. "We might have to _not_ kill her… For now…"

"What? Why?" asked Squall.

"Well, I'm pretty sure we've been played," Rinoa answered. "Turns out that Seymour might be an undead man, capable of teleportation, and monster summoning, which he tried to kill us with."

"So, what, he's gone?" Squall asked.

"Gone," Rinoa answered. "Also, he unleashed monsters all over the city. That's our right-now problem."

Squall looked around to take in the situation. The brick road he had been battling on was shaken apart. The houses and buildings the fight took place in front of had suffered broken windows. In the distance, Squall could hear gunfire and the people of Bevelle screaming. He could see Rikku, Paine, and Yuna with Kimahri, recovering from the battle.

"Okay, okay, up you get," Rinoa said, pulling Squall to his feet.

"Where's everyone else?" Squall asked.

"When the Bevelle guards hit the streets, they went with them to clear out the monsters," answered Rinoa. "A lot of those other guys went too."

Across town, Wakka slams his ball down on an unsuspecting Drake wandering the streets.

"Whoo! That's seven for me!" he cheered.

Wakka heard two gunshots, followed by two Peregrine falling out of the sky and landing on the street in front of him.

"Nine for me!" said Irvine from the rooftops.

"Aarrgh! I still say guns are cheating!" Wakka called.

Irvine jumped off his roof and landed beside Wakka. "You could back out if you want," he said, resting his gun over his shoulder.

"Not a chance," Wakka said.

Off in the distance, a shrieking Zu could be seen flying towards Wakka and Irvine. It flew lower and lower, until it crashed into the ground right at their feet. Upon examination, they noticed the wing moving. Tidus poked his head out from under the Zu's wing and lifted it off of himself.

"Oof. Taking this thing out really slowed me down," Tidus said. "I only got fourteen!"

Irvine and Wakka stared at Tidus for a few moments.

"Man, I didn't take you for such a lazy person," Irvine finally said.

"Yeah, you should be ashamed of yourself," Wakka added.

"Aaaah! You guys probably have like thirty! Each!" Tidus yelled, and ran off down the street.

"Guess we both got thirty, ya?" Wakka asked.

"Guess so," Irvine answered.

The rest of the day was spent clearing Bevelle of the monsters Seymour left behind. Yuna, Rikku, Paine, Kimahri, Rinoa and Squall had joined the fray before long. As the sun was setting, the guardians and the SeeDs gathered in the first level of the spire, just in front of the stage while the guards of Bevelle swept up the straggling monsters in the streets. Despite some bonding between the SeeDs and guardians while defending the city, Squall did not let his guard down completely.

"So that's when we checked out Seymour's study, and he had disappeared," Rinoa said, explaining to everyone what had happened.

"Yeah, Seymour's always been bad news for us," Rikku said.

"If you guys aren't responsible for what's been happening at the temples, do you know what is?" asked Zell.

"We only got here yesterday," said Yuna. "We tried helping out at the Baaj temple, but-"

"You're a summoner, right?" interrupted Squall. "You can control these Aeons?"

"I _was_ a summoner," Yuna answered. "I _used_ to summon Aeons."

"But not anymore? You probably could have crushed the three of us if you could, right?" questioned Squall.

"I guess… But I would never," said Yuna. "The Aeons helped us fight fiends. I could never use them to hurt people.

"Well, I'll settle for not dying today, thank you very much," said Selphie.

Just then, the doors to the spire opened, and many of the townspeople flooded in. Slowly, the pews and benches began to fill with frustrated people and guards took position along the aisles. A dozen or so men and women stepped onto the stage, escorted by guards, and took seats at the long table. The room soon became silent.

"Lady Yuna," a man on the stage began. "You stand before the people of Bevelle to answer for the violent events that took place here today. As soon as Maester Seymour arrives, your trial shall begin."

"Seymour's gone, man!" Zell said. "He bailed!"

"Yeah, plus we're pretty sure that he's the reason monsters were even here!" said Tidus.

The men and women on seated on the stage murmured for a few moments.

"Sounds like you guys got your hands full," said Squall. "SeeDs, let's go upstairs."

"Squall, you sure we shouldn't stay for this?" Quistis asked.

"We've got our own things to deal with," Squall answered. "Come on."

The SeeDs left the room and took the elevator to their quarters. The murmuring continued until Rikku piped up.

"Hey!" Rikku said, hushing the whispers. "Unless you got something to say, we're going!"

"Very well," a woman said. "Lady Yuna, you stand accused of the attacks on the temples in Wutai, Bikanel, Esthar, Nibelheim, Junon, and Baaj; summoning the Aeons, and destroying the temples, killing and injuring many innocent people in the process. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty," Yuna declared.

"Not guilty, ya!" Wakka added.

The townspeople began to angrily shout and boo. The people on stage called for silence.

"I assume that Seymour Guado is the one that the accusation came from," said Lulu. "If he is not present to provide any evidence, this trial has no merit. This accusation is only words.

"You are trained in the Summoner Arts, aren't you?" asked another man.

"I am," answered Yuna. "But I have not had an Aeon to summon in years, and my companions and I only arrived in this land yesterday."

"You are the only person in a very long time capable of summoning these Aeons in these lands," the man said. "How else can you explain these crimes?"

"What?! How is this _our_ job?" asked Tidus. "Aren't you supposed to _prove_ she's guilty?"

"Hang on a second," Yuna whispered to Tidus. She jumped on stage and stood at the podium. The whole room began whispering amongst themselves.

"I understand you want answers," Yuna began. "I understand you want someone to take responsibility for what's been happening at the temples. I know. You're scared; you may have lost a friend or a family member, someone very dear to you. You just want it to stop, and you want to be safe. And you have every right to be safe, you deserve it."

"You're a killer!" shouted a man from the pews, standing up. "Maester Seymour told us about you! Bring the SeeDs back to finish their job!"

The room erupted in a mixture of cheers and angry shouts.

"I don't know what Seymour Guado has said about me!" Yuna said, silencing the room. "But what I _do_ know is that he has abandoned you! He hasn't been seen in the city since the fiends struck. Where is your leader?" The room remained silent. "I'll admit, my visit to your city has not gone the way I had hoped, but I came for one reason. I am here to tell you, that I will stand between you and the out of control Aeons; that you can count on me to protect you."

"Lady Yuna," a woman at the end of the table said. "May I remind you that this is your trial, and _not_ your platform to discredit Maester Seymour."

"When I arrived here," Yuna said. "I was told that Seymour ordered my assassination, yet you're giving me a trial. Your guards haven't seized my friends and pointed their guns at me. I believe that Bevelle has a strong sense of what is right. That's why you haven't killed me; that's why you all gather here together, to decide the future of your city. And frankly, you know you can't stop me. You can't stop me from fighting for you."


	24. Chapter 24

"Whoo. I am _tired_." Selphie said, collapsing on a couch in the SeeDs' common room.

"I'm ready for a rest as anyone," Rinoa said. "But what do we do now that Seymour's gone?"

"We should leave," Squall answered.

"You mean in the morning right?" said Zell, sitting down in a chair.

"I mean now," Squall said. "Tonight."

"Seriously? Why?" asked Irvine.

"Lady Yuna and her friends are dangerous. We can't stay here," Squall announced.

"Squall, I don't know if you heard me right the first, second, or third time, but we got played by Seymour," Rinoa said. "He tried to use us to get rid of Yuna and stabbed us in the back."

"You guys saw what she and the other two did to me, and Selphie, and Quistis," Squall said. "What if she doesn't stop next time? What if she strikes when we're not prepared?"

"Then we'll fight them," Quistis said. "But they're not our enemies, Squall. You should really get some rest."

"I know that Seymour's bad news, but I can't ignore Yuna's power," Squall said. "She can control Aeons, Aeons are on the loose here, and we can't use our GFs for some reason. We are not at our strongest."

"Someone's going to have to connect the dots for me here," Selphie said, sitting up. "What exactly are you saying?"

"Why did Seymour hire us to take out Yuna in the first place?" Squall began. "Clearly, she poses a threat to him; she's strong. But without her Aeons, she might be vulnerable. If she's around to use the Aeons, she'll be strong enough to wipe the floor with him, and maybe anyone else. I won't let that include us."

"What do you propose we do then?" asked Irvine.

"We need some GFs on our side," Squall answered. "When Seymour was telling us all about those temples that were attacked, he left out Balamb Temple. Maybe their GF is still housed there. Seymour fears Yuna and the Aeons, so if we get it first, we'll be strong enough to take him on, and Yuna, if we have to."

"Squall, are you sure about this?" asked Rinoa.

"Well, it's either we sit here, waiting for something to happen, or we get our hands on the GF to be ready in _case_ something happens," Squall answered.

"Summoning deterrent, huh?" said Zell.

"That's why I say we should go now," Squall said.

"I'm driving," Selphie said, unenthusiastically.

The SeeDs all stood up and approached the elevator. Upon opening the door, they came face to face with Yuna and her guardians, escorted by a Bevelle guard.

"Your accommodations are on this floor. The SeeDs also have room here," the guard said.

"Actually, we were just leaving," Squall said.

"Like, _leaving_ leaving?" asked Tidus.

"We've got places to be," answered Squall.

"Your ship can have our parking space!" Rinoa said.

"Isn't your ship just parked outside the city in a field?" asked Rikku as the guardians stepped out of the elevator.

Rinoa just smiled, waved goodbye, and followed her friends into the elevator. The door closed and the SeeDs descended.

"How come nobody wants to be our friends around here?" asked Tidus.

"I guess that means more room for us, right?" said Yuna.

"It was nice of them to let us stay here, considering we were just on trial," Paine said.

"No kidding," said Wakka. "You guys sure this is a good idea?"

"Don't forget why we came here in the first place," Lulu answered. "Since we were their enemies before we even arrived here, the fact that they've treated us with such hospitality is nothing short of a miracle. And if we want to gain their trust, the least we could do is stay the night."

"Yeah, I could think of more difficult ways to show good faith," Tidus said.

"What do you say we check out the rooms?" Rikku suggested with excitement.

"Yeah! Sounds good!" Yuna said.

She, Tidus, and Rikku all began exploring. Paine, Lulu, and Kimahri all sat down on the couches and chairs to relax, but Wakka just sat down where he stood.

"What's wrong, Wakka?" asked Lulu.

"Man… we've had a crazy and busy couple of days," Wakka said. "But now that we have a chance to relax and breathe, I realize just how much I miss Vidina. The little guy is probably missing us, too."

Lulu stood up and walked over to Wakka, sitting down next to him.

"I miss him, too," Lulu said. "But he has the entire island of Besaid to look after him."

"Kimahri misses Ronso," Kimahri said. "But not worried. Kimahri teaches Ronso to care for other Ronso. Lulu is right. Besaid helps Besaid. Besaid helps Vidina. Wakka not worry."

"Well spoken," Paine said. "Besides, not to make things gloomy, but I think we've still got issues of our own; this whole thing about Spiran cities here, but not being in Spira is a mystery."

"Yeah," said Wakka. "I guess it's just hard for me to focus on the problems here when my mind is back home, ya?"

Rikku burst out of one of the rooms, eyes widened and jaw dropped.

"They all have balconies," she said. "And the beds are so comfy. I'm going to sleep forever."

Rikku went back into her room and collapsed on the bed, without even closing the door. Lulu and Wakka stood up and entered a room of their own.

"I don't mind staying here," Paine said to Kimahri. "But I think it would be a mistake for all of us to let our guard down. I'm going to stay out here."

Kimahri grunted in agreement. He sat on the floor, legs crossed, with his lance in his lap for the rest of the night.


	25. Chapter 25

The setting sun illuminated the town before Cloud and his friends. Aboard the Shera, they gathered on the bridge. The town had been built at the base of a mountain range. It had interconnecting dirt roads running throughout, multileveled huts as stores and homes, but no temple in sight. People started to gather on the roads looking up and pointing at the airship.

The group looked out the windows, scanning the town. Yuffie had a concerned look on her face and glanced at Cid.

"If y'all have somethin' to say, now's a perfect time to keep your mouths shut," Cid said. "I flew to the only town near the mark on the map, so don't you say nuthin'."

"Alright, take us down," Cloud said to Cid. "But land out of sight so we don't draw more attention to ourselves. Some of us will scout out the town tonight; see if we can't find the temple."

Cloud began to exit the bridge when the pain in his head returned. A deafening ringing filled his head, causing him to bring his hands to his temples in an attempt to silence it. He stumbled backward, being caught by Tifa. She slowly laid him down, asking what was wrong. Her lips were moving, but could not hear her. Cloud's vision began to blur and fade into white.

When Cloud regained consciousness, he was lying in his cot with Tifa at his side. The splitting pain in his head had subsided.

"You picked a hell of a time for a nap, you know," Tifa sighed.

"Well, I don't feel rested," Cloud said. "How long have I been out?"

"A few hours," Tifa answered. "Everyone else went into town to find the temple."

"We should go into town, too," said Cloud, sitting up.

"I think you should stay behind, or rest, or something," Tifa said, putting her hand on Cloud's shoulder. "What if that happens again? What if it happens again when the Aeon shows up?"

"Then we'll deal with it," Cloud said. He stood up, but Tifa pulled him back down onto his cot.

"I don't think this has sunk in for anyone else," Tifa said, shakily. "But I'm getting this bad feeling that this whole thing with the Aeons isn't just some monster hunt."

Cloud looked into Tifa's eyes. There was fear in them.

"It's like you said; there might be something bigger at play," Tifa continued. "People are getting hurt, killed."

"I get it, Tifa," Cloud said. "You're afraid that something might happen, and you won't be able to go home to Marlene and Denzel."

"I'm more afraid," Tifa said. "That _you_ won't be able to go home. I don't know what I would do without you."

Cloud put both hands on Tifa's shoulders and embraced her.

"That's all the more reason for us to get this done; for us to fight," Cloud said. "As long as we have people to protect, we'll always fight, right?"

After a moment, there came a knock on the door.

"Cloud? Tifa? Can I come in?" asked Yuffie from behind the door. "You two aren't 'under the stars', are you?"

Neither of them answered. They just stared at the door in silence.

"I don't hear any noises," Yuffie went on. "If you want me to come back later just make… a _really_ obvious sound."

Cloud and Tifa continued to stare at the door.

"Okay, I'm not sure if you heard me," Yuffie said. "Are you asleep? Do you know what I mean by 'under the stars'? It's me, Yuffie. Kisaragi."

"What do you say we open the door?" whispered Tifa.

She stood up, but the door opened before she could walk over. There stood Yuffie, with her hands covering her eyes.

"Lady and gentleman, would you please put your clothes back on and direct your attention towards the attractive ninja by the door?" Yuffie announced.

"Yuffie, you can open your eyes," Cloud said.

Yuffie peeked out from between her fingers.

"Wow! You two dress really fast!" she said.

"No, we weren't- nevermind," Tifa said. "Did you guys find the temple?"

"You bet!" Yuffie answered. "It's REALLY cool! The reason we couldn't see it from the ship is 'cause it's _inside_ the mountain. You gotta see it! Come on!"

Yuffie left the room followed by Cloud and Tifa.

"Don't think that I'm okay with this, Cloud," Tifa said. "I still think that you being out in a fight is a bad idea."

The three of them exited the Shera and approached the town. Upon entering, they could see a small gathering of people at the opening of a cave. As they got closer, the people by the cave could be heard pleading with men guarding the temple.

"Please, you must let us in," Quistis said. "You know this is the last temple whose Aeon hasn't wreaked havoc. We just want to make sure that doesn't happen here."

"The situation is under control, ma'am," one of the guards said. "We have a team inside the temple currently at work."

"Hey, what's going on, guys?" Yuffie said, walking up to the group.

"These folk are trying to access the temple outside of visiting hours, miss Kisaragi," the guard said. "Don't worry, I'll handle them. You head on in."

"Hey, why do they get to go in?" Selphie squeaked.

"They're temple-relief officials from Bevelle," the guard said.

"Well, we're from Bevelle, too!" said Rinoa. "We were hired by Maester Seymour."

"Is that right? Well, I'll ask him then. Here he comes, now," the guard pointed behind them.

"Ha ha, very funny," Rinoa said, turning away.

Rinoa's eyes widened as she turned to see Seymour standing behind the SeeDs. The rest of them turned, as well. As surprised as they were, they could all keep a straight face in front of the man that had tried to kill them earlier that day.

"My friends," Seymour said. "I take it you weren't successful in your fight with Lady Yuna?"

"She had powerful allies," Squall said.

"I see," Seymour replied. "Well, I can't say I blame you. We have a fair bit of history, she and I. How did you know to come here?"

"Well, this is the last temple with an Aeon, right? We figured Lady Yuna would come for this one next," Squall lied.

"Of course," said Seymour. "Let them in. They are, in fact, under my orders to protect this land."

The SeeDs joined Tifa, Cloud, and Yuffie on the other side of the line of guards. Seymour glanced at Yuffie, giving an inquisitive look. Yuffie smiled awkwardly and began walking deeper into the cave.

After the group disappeared into the cave, Seymour walked off towards a nearby hut. He entered and climbed the stairs to the second level. There, a man in a long grey coat stood, looking out the window.

"So, you're just going to let them into the temple, huh?" the man said.

"They can't do anything to stop the Aeon," Seymour answered. "And they may still be of some use, Seifer."

The man turned away from the window to face Seymour. He had a large scar across his face and short blonde hair. He carried a gunblade, similar to Squall's.

"You don't have to lie to me," Seifer said. "You just want your fun, I get it. Just don't forget: the job comes first."

"Of course," Seymour said. "I want this more than you know."

"Really? Because you look like a cat playing with a mouse," Seifer said.

"Well, you have to admit, nothing would please you more than seeing the SeeDs crushed with our full might," said Seymour. "I have similar feelings about a certain summoner in Bevelle."

"Is that why you ran away from her?" Seifer jabbed. "I'm starting to question how useful you are to us."

"Watch yourself, boy," Seymour warned. "You have an important role now, but once that's over, it won't stay my hand from-"

"Are you two done?" A voice said.

Seeming to appear out of nowhere, the man with the long black coat and silver hair approached Seifer and Seymour.

"You sure took your time, Sephiroth," Seifer said. "I can't even fly and I still got here a day before you."

"I was sightseeing," Sephiroth said. "This world won't be around forever, you know."

"Whatever," Seifer scoffed. "I hate waiting. And now that the SeeDs are here, they're going to put up a fight once they see me."

"I guess it's a good thing that I'm here," Seymour said. "I'll keep their attention and you two draw out the Aeon."

"Let's get to work then," Sephiroth said.

The three of them exited the hut and approached the cave.

"I'll take my position on the mountain. When the Aeon gets loose… you might want to clear out," said Sephiroth, and his rose into the sky, disappearing into the night.

"Don't forget what I said," Seifer told Seymour. "The job comes first. If the SeeDs get in the way, kill them."


	26. Chapter 26

Balamb Temple was as impressive as Yuffie made it sound. The cave passage Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, and the SeeDs followed opened up into an enormous cavern. There stood the temple. The outside was decorated with torches and bonfires that lit up the cave. The temple itself had a long staircase leading high to the entrance, which sat atop many tiers of brick levels.

"So, you guys were hired by that Seymour guy?" Tifa asked, as they all started up the steps. "To protect people?"

"Uh, yeah… sort of…" Zell answered.

"Our contract with Seymour is… not on solid foundation," added Squall.

"And you fought with someone named Lady Yuna… Where have I heard that name before…" wondered Yuffie.

"It was that woman at the Baaj Temple," Cloud said. "She was trying to tame or calm that monster."

"So, she _was_ trying to get the Aeon… I guess Seymour wasn't lying about everything, huh?" said Irvine.

"What, is Seymour not trustworthy?" Cloud asked.

"Well, he kind of tried to kill us," answered Rinoa.

"Seriously? And you're still working for him?" asked Tifa.

"Like I said," Squall answered. "Not on solid foundation."

"Regardless of what Seymour might think we're doing, we're here to make sure Yuna doesn't have control of the Aeon here," Quistis added.

"Well, that's a good thing to hear," Cloud said. "I don't think anyone should control these things, even if they can."

"I hope these guys don't try to stop us from drawing this GF," thought Squall.

The group walked up the rest of the stairs without speaking further. At the top of the staircase, they were greeted by Vincent, who stood by the entrance to the temple.

"What's the situation, Vince?" asked Yuffie.

Vincent gave the SeeDs an ocular-once over. "The Fayth is intact. No damage to the temple's interior," he said. "Whatever happened at the other temples hasn't happened here… Yet."

"Alright. Let's head inside," said Cloud.

"Who're they?" Vincent gestured toward the SeeDs.

"Don't know yet," Cloud answered. "Figure we introduce ourselves when we're all together."

"Great," thought Squall. "There are even more of them."

They all entered the chamber of the Fayth. Like Vincent said, the Fayth was intact, the first one they had seen. It appeared to be secured under a clear, but dense material. The Fayth looked just like a person, with red and orange hair, dark skin, and adorned with decorative beads and carvings from black horns and tusks.

The chamber was circular, open and spacious around the Fayth. Stone support pillars outlined the area, with a dark walkway around the room just beyond them. The ceiling had a fairly large hole leading straight up out of the temple. In the chamber of the Fayth, Barret, Red XIII, and Cid stood around, inspecting the room for any detail or clue they may have missed. When the rest of the group and the SeeDs entered the room, they walked over to each other.

"How's ya head, spikey?" asked Barret.

"Messed up, I guess," said Cloud. He and the rest of his party turned to Squall's group.

"I guess we'll start," Squall began. "I'm Squall. This is Selphie, Irvine, Rinoa, Quistis, and Zell."

"Why'd you introduce me last?" whispered Zell.

"My name's Cloud. You met Tifa, Vincent, and Yuffie already," Cloud said. "The rest are Cid, Barret, and Red XIII."

Rinoa kneeled down in front of Red XIII and started to rub his head.

"Awww. Who's a good boy, huh?" Rinoa said in a playful voice.

"I take it you mean me…" replied Red XIII.

Rinoa froze. The rest of the SeeDs froze as well and looked over at Red.

"He's perfect!" squeaked Rinoa. "I want one!" she said, turning to Squall.

"Rinoa. Stop. Please," said Squall. He turned to Cloud. "So you guys are some sort of temple caretakers? Is that right?"

"Um… We're investigating the strange occurrences at the temples over the past couple of weeks," Yuffie fibbed. "We've been all over the place analyzing the destruction, interviewing temple-goers, helping plan temple reconstruction, stuff like that… It's pretty amazing if I do say so myself."

"Is that right?" said a familiar voice.

The two groups turned to see Seymour step out of the shadow of a stone pillar.

"Funny. As leader of Bevelle and overseer of the temples for this past year, I should have heard of such a group from Bevelle, making official visits to the temples," Seymour said. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were lying. What are you really doing here?"

"Listen, Blue," said Barret. "I get that you're a big deal or whatever, but we ain't gotta answer to you."

"Regardless of what you're doing, you are trespassing. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave," Seymour said.

"And if we don't?" asked Vincent.

"Then the SeeDs will see you out," Seymour answered.

"Actually, Seymour," Squall said, drawing his gunblade. "Consider our services terminated."

The rest of the SeeDs drew their weapons as well.

"I see you're done with your charade then," Seymour said, turning to the SeeDs. "I suppose really you're here to kill me?"

"If we have to, we will," answered Squall. "But if you step aside, hand over the GF, and never show your face again, then you can walk away."

"Ah, you're after the power of the Aeon," Seymour said, intrigued.

"Squall, what are you talking about? These things are dangerous," Cloud said. "You can't take it."

"We need it," Rinoa said. "It's safer in our hands than anyone else's."

"If the Aeon's unleashed, you kiss this temple and probably a ton of people in the town goodbye," Cid said. "And I for one don't want a mountain comin' down on my head."

"We're here to stop that from happening," Tifa said. "And if that means we have to stop you, too, then that's what's going to happen."

"My my my," interrupted Seymour. "As much as I enjoy the conflict building, I must get my business underway. Are you ready, Seifer?"

"Just about," Seifer said, stepping out of the shadows with his hand out toward the Fayth.

"Seifer?! What's going on here?!" Squall said.

"He's going to draw the GF! We have to stop him!" Quistis shouted.

"Too late, kids," Seifer said.

The Fayth began to emit a blinding light. Everyone shielded their eyes. When the light dissipated, Ifrit stood in the middle of the chamber. Its form took on features similar to what the Fayth had shown; Ifrit had long black horns and claws, red and orange fur, and stood on all fours like an animal.

"Now's our chance, everyone! Let's take this thing out!" commanded Cloud, drawing his sword.

"No!" yelled Squall as he charged Cloud, clashing swords with him. "You have to let us take it."

Cloud pushed Squall back. Barret, Tifa, Yuffie, Red XIII, Cid, and Vincent all prepared for a battle. Seifer and Seymour drew their gunblade and wand respectively, and took a defensive position in front of Ifrit, who seemed docile at the moment.

"Red XIII, Barret, Cid, Vincent, and Yuffie, take down the Aeon and anyone standing in your way," said Cloud. "Tifa, back me up."

"What do we do, Squall?" asked Zell.

"Rinoa, Quistis, Irvine, and Selphie, you have to get the GF and protect it. That's the priority," ordered Squall. "Zell and I will deal with Cloud and Tifa."

"You know, Seymour, you might have been right," Seifer said. "I think I will enjoy seeing this all unfold. Bring it on, SeeD!"


	27. Chapter 27

Cid charged at Seifer, bringing his spear down on his blade. Rinoa fired her blaster edge at Seifer, who deflected Cid's spear into its path to protect himself. Getting up close and personal, Rinoa swung her first at Seifer. He caught Rinoa's strike with his free hand. Seifer pushed Cid backward with his gunblade and threw Rinoa's fist at him as well. Cid caught Rinoa's fist with his face and was knocked to the ground. Over her shoulder, Rinoa could see Seifer about to strike. Swinging around, she blocked Seifer's attack with her blaster edge.

"Happy to see me, Rinoa?" Seifer smirked.

"Happy to get a chance to knock your teeth in!" Rinoa growled.

Rinoa grabbed Seifer's wrist and fell backward, pulling him off balance. She rolled on her back with her feet up, throwing Seifer over her. Seifer landed on his face, getting trampled by Cid, who charged at Rinoa.

Cid thrust his spear at Rinoa, who spun passed it. Grabbing the spear, Rinoa swatted at Cid with her backhand. Cid ducked beneath her attack and yanked his spear from her grasp. Seifer stood up and slashed at Cid. Bringing his spear around, Cid blocked Seifer's gunblade and kicked backward, hitting Rinoa in the stomach.

Swinging his foot back toward Siefer, Cid pulled his spear back, kicked Seifer in the chin, and swept Rinoa's feet with a swing of his spear.

From across the room, Vincent dashed right up to Ifrit, leapt in the air and uppercut it as hard as he could. He drew his gun on it and fired off three rounds into its face. Yuffie followed up with a strike from her shuriken. Instead of throwing it, she jumped up and swung it down on Ifrit's head. Quickly recovering from Vincent's attack, Ifrit stopped Yuffie's shuriken, catching it between its hands, and slammed her down on the ground.

Irvine approached Yuffie, gun in hand. He fired at her, but Vincent darted down to protect her, using his gauntlet to block the bullets. Vincent lifted his gun to fire back, but Irivine used the length of his gun to redirect it away as Vincent fired. He then swung the butt of his gun into Vincent's chest and knocked him on his back. Ifrit swiped at Vincent, Yuffie, and Irvine with its massive arm, missing Vincent and Yuffie lying on the ground, and knocked Irivne through one of the room's support pillars.

"Same team, big guy," moaned Irvine as he leaned against the wall.

Picking themselves up, Vincent and Yuffie stood defensively in front of Ifrit. Vincent began firing his gun at the beast, who charged towards him. Yuffie threw two small shuriken at Ifrit, but missed entirely on both accounts, digging into a pillar behind it. Ifrit moved to strike Vincent with its claws, but was stopped just short of its target, as if being held back.

Yuffie jumped over and behind Ifrit, and appeared to land in mid-air. She had actually stood upon two wires strung from the shuriken she had thrown, which had wrapped around Ifrit's hand, preventing it from striking. Holding up two more shuriken tied together with more wire, she threw them both passed Ifrit again and into the floor in front of it, pinning its head down low, exposing its back.

Vincent jumped up high and took aim at Ifrit, but was quickly blasted out of the air by Irvine. Yuffie threw her large shuriken at Irvine, which he also shot out of the air. Turning his attention back to Yuffie, Irvine had lost track of her. From above, Yuffie landed on Irvine's shoulders, pulling his hat over his eyes. She wrapped her legs around his arms and flipped backward, pulling and throwing Irvine across the room.

Irvine rolled across the floor into a crouch, raising his gun, but Yuffie was hot on is tail. She kicked Irvine's gun up into the air with a back flip, just as it let off a shot. Upon landing, Yuffie threw a punch, which Irvine caught with ease. Looking over Yuffie's shoulder, Irvine could see her large shuriken flying toward him, led by another wire. The punch was a diversion to pull her weapon back.

Thinking fast, Irvine turned and threw Yuffie over his shoulder and ducked down beneath her large shuriken, flying overhead. She quickly recovered and landed on her feet, catching her shuriken. Irvine and Yuffie both looked up to see Irvine's rifle falling back down. The two scrambled to grab it, wrestling for control over the gun.

Yuffie forced the gun to point straight down at the floor, away from herself. Irvine slipped his hand up to the trigger.

"My apologies, ma'am," he said, pulling the trigger.

The recoil blasted the gun up, butting Yuffie right in the forehead, knocking her on her back in a daze.

Cloud jumped into the air and brought his sword down on Squall, who blocked with his gunblade. Tifa followed Cloud and stomped on the back of his sword, adding incredible force to its strike. Squall was forced to his knees and deflected Cloud's sword away, leaving himself wide open for and attack.

Right next to Squall, Tifa wound up for a roundhouse kick, but Zell jumped in, grabbed her foot and threw her. Zell turned around and kicked at Cloud, who blocked it with the broad side of his blade. Squall then stood up and shoulder charged Cloud, pushing him onto his back.

Squall slashed at Cloud, but was easily parried away. Standing up, Cloud swung his massive sword, barely evaded by Squall. The two stood across from each other, waiting for the other to make a move.

"Cloud's really strong," Squall thought to himself. "He swings that sword like it's nothing. I can't beat him with brute strength, and one hit with that thing and I'll be torn in half. Damn it… Maybe I can give myself an extra boost…"

Squall gripped his gunblade with both hands. He charged Cloud and pulled the trigger, propelling him forward. Dashing up to him, Squall struck with all his might. Cloud blocked his attack, but was knocked back by Squall's increased force. With a smirk cracking upon his face, Squall unleashed a flurry of slashes powered by shots of his gunblade. Cloud knew he had to work harder to fight him back.

Zell and Tifa locked hands in a power struggle. They aggressively threw each other back and forth, in attempts to gain an edge.

"You know," Zell strained. "I usually just fight monsters and guys with swords or guns, and it's weird to say, but it's nice to finally fight someone hand-to-hand."

"I don't know if you'll be so excited once I punch that burn right off your face," replied Tifa.

"You mean my tattoo?" asked Zell.

"Tattoo?" said Tifa. "You did that on _purpose_?!"

Tifa pulled Zell forward and pushed her knee into his chest, sending him staggering backward. She then hooked her foot around his head with a kick, pushing it down and bouncing it hard off the ground.

Turning toward Cloud and Squall, struggling to match each other's strength and swordplay respectively, Tifa ran over to back up Cloud. Sliding up to him, Tifa kicked Squall in the chest, sending him flying against a stone pillar. Squall brought his gunblade up to protect himself against Tifa's follow up attack. She punched, hitting the broadside of Squall's sword, but the force pushed him hard against the pillar, cracking the bricks.

Winding up for another strike, Tifa's fist was stopped by Zell, who also grabbed her by the neck. A look of shock washed over Tifa's face.

"You think that was enough to take me out?" asked Zell. "Please. I've hit my head a lot. You'll have to work harder than that to put me down."

Zell lifted her off the ground and slammed Tifa against the floor, cracking the bricks beneath her. Cloud ran up to Zell, swinging his sword at him. Squall stepped between them, blocking Cloud's attack, but his physical strength was enough to push Squall and Zell through the stone pillar, into the wall behind it.

Tifa sat up, coughing. Cloud pulled her to her feet.

"I don't suppose you're holding back, are you?" asked Tifa.

"We're here to kill the Aeon," said Cloud. "To save lives. I don't want to have to kill these people if we don't have to."

"Well, let's not get ourselves killed before we figure out how hard we have to fight them," Tifa said, annoyed.

Seymour stood in front of Selphie and Quistis, between them and the Aeon. He raised this staff above him, conjuring half a dozen ice shards, pointed at the SeeDs. Behind the girls, Barret and Red XIII approached, poised to attack. Quistis quickly turned towards them, back to back with Selphie, lifting her whip defensively.

"You should know, I have a particular distain for weapons like that," Red XIII said.

"Should I hit you with something else?" teased Quistis. "A feather duster, perhaps?"

"Everybody's got a sense of humor, huh," said Barret. "Just step aside, lady, and you won't get hurt."

"Seems like everyone's saying that recently," said Quistis, striking her whip at the two.

Barret and Red each rolled out of the way. Switching his arm into gun form, Barret began firing at Quistis, who took cover behind a stone pillar. Red XIII flanked Quistis on her left side and Barret on her right.

Quistis whipped Barret by the feet and pulled him onto his back, firing his gun into the ceiling. Turning around, she could see Red XIII getting ready to pounce. Focusing her energy, Quistis looked up, her eyes began to glow blue, shooting out a focused laser. She blasted the ceiling above Red, dropping a pile of rubble, burying him.

"She got fricken' laser eyes?!" Barret shouted. "Why do I always fight the crazy ones?!"

Seymour waved his staff at Selphie, firing off the ice crystals. Swinging and twirling her nunchaku, Selphie blocked each attack. Grinning, Seymour pointed his large Guado fingers, shooting a bolt of lightning from the tips. Selphie defended herself, spinning her nunchaku, as if pulling the lightning off course, into the ground.

"Like those moves?" Selphie taunted.

"I must admit," Seymour said. "At first glance, I thought you would be the least competent SeeD on your own, but despite your childish demeanor, you have surprised me."

"Well then," said Selphie, smugly. "Prepare to be-" but she was interrupted by Seymour's water spell.

With Barret still wrapped up, Quistis grabbed her whip with both hands and flung him across the room.

"How're we doing, Selphie?" called Quistis.

Looking up, Quistis witnessed a peculiar sight. A floating ball of water, with Selphie rolling around inside, flew overhead. Selphie struggled in the orb of water to free herself and call for help. Quistis sighed, and then used her whip to pull Selphie from her watery prison, dropping her on the floor.

"I can believe I almost drowned in a fire temple," coughed Selphie. "Careful with Seymour. His wand is just a prop. He doesn't need it to cast spells."

"Thanks for the heads up," said Quistis as she walked off toward Seymour.

Red XIII burst from the rubble. He shook off the dust and rocks, his gaze falling on Selphie standing in front of him. He began circling her.

"Heel. _Heel_ ," Selphie warned.

Red XIII pounced on her and pinned her down. Selphie tried her hardest to push him off with her nunchaku, but Red was too strong and heavy. Without many options, Selphie's attention was caught by Red XIII's headdress, and the fire materia it held.

"This looks magic-y!" said Selphie, grabbing it.

Selphie drew the fiery energy out of Red's headdress and into herself. She concentrated the spell into her hand and swung her fist at Red XIII, shooting out a ball of fire. Red jumped back, out of the way of the fireball.

Quistis whipped Seymour, who blocked her strike with his staff. With his free hand, Seymour grabbed the whip and pulled Quistis toward him, causing her to stumble. He then dashed right up to Quistis, and with his large Guado hand, grabbed her by the face, and slammed her on the ground.

From the side, Barret jumped at Seymour, throwing a punch with his full force. Seymour was knocked aside. Barret began firing his arm-gun, but Seymour used his staff, now free from Quistis' whip, to block the bullets by spinning it. The bullets' impact forced Seymour backward as Barret advanced toward him.

Selphie stood up to face Red XIII again.

"I don't care how cute you are," said Selphie. "If you pounce me again, I'm going to really lose it."

Red growled at her. He got low, as if to do exactly what Selphie told him not to. Springing forward, Red XIII was grabbed by Quistis' whip. As hard as she could, Quistis pulled Red XIII over her shoulder, throwing him at Barret, knocking them both down.

"Nice one!" Selphie cheered. "I think it's time for the Swirling Fire Jackpot."

"Do you mean the Mega Flower Spin?" asked Quistis.

"No, it's a new one," said Selphie. "But I'm really stoked that you're embracing the names."

"I know it might sound crazy, but I'm really not," said Quistis.


	28. Chapter 28

Yuna began to stir, feeling her body begin to wake up. The bed was unbelievably comfortable. She felt like she would sink right through it. She stretched her arms and legs, then her fingers and toes. Feeling around, she noticed that Tidus had already woken up and left, and Yuna let out sigh of content, having the bed all to herself.

"Come on, she not up yet," she could hear Tidus whisper. "Give her a few more minutes."

"No. We're doing this now," Lulu said as she flung open the bed's drapes. "Are you awake now, Yuna?"

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhn," Yuna answered.

"I'm glad to hear it," Lulu said. "Things have taken an interesting turn. Come on. We need you."

Lulu helped Yuna sit up in her bed and brushed her hair with her hands to make her more presentable. Lulu then pulled Yuna on her feet and guided her to the door. Tidus opened the door for them and they walked through, into the common area. All of Yuna's guardians were standing around the room. In front of Yuna's door stood a man and a woman from the previous day's trial, accompanied by two Bevelle guards.

"Lady Yuna," greeted the man. "I hope this morning finds you well."

"Hmmmm?" answered Yuna, her eyes still half closed.

"After the events of yesterday and the disappearance of Maester Seymour," the woman said. "Our city council had much to discuss last night after you and your friends had turned in. Most of the public either fell asleep in the pews or went home before we concluded. In fact, we only finished deliberations less than an hour ago."

Lulu could feel Yuna begin to shift and lean on her. She quickly shook her awake.

"We won't bore you with the specific debates, but we must inform you of the decision we reached," the man said. "Lady Yuna, Bevelle asks that you remain here to become her protector and leader."

Yuna's tired eyes popped open. "Excuse me?" she said.

"In these times of Aeons emerging from temples, bringing chaos and destruction," the man continued. "Bevelle needs a strong and caring figure at the helm. Since Maester Seymour appears to have abandoned us, and with the strong desire for peace you displayed, we can think of no one better suited to lead us."

"Oh, Yunie!" Rikku gasped. "You're gonna a princess?!"

"I don't think that's what's happening here," Paine whispered.

"What say you, Lady Yuna?" asked the woman.

"I graciously accept," Yuna smiled.

Suddenly, the elevator door opened. Shinra, Buddy, and Brother emerged with four Bevelle guards. Brother fell to the floor and crawled over to Yuna.

"Found these three snooping around the tower," one of the guards said. "When we greeted them, the one in the overalls attacked us."

"Brother got us arrested," Buddy said.

"Not true!" whimpered Brother. "We were sure you were captured! So we demanded justice for Yuna, and these bullies brutalized us!"

"I won't get locked up right?" asked Shinra. "I'm a minor."

"So do you know these guys?" the guard asked.

"Yeah," said Yuna. "They're more of my friends."

"We lost contact with you all once you entered the tower," said Shinra, walking over with Buddy. "Looks like none of our signals or communications can penetrate these walls. I'd love to take a closer look and see what the deal is with this place."

"Maybe later, Shinra," said Yuna. She looked around the room and clapped her hands together. "Gullwings. Guardians. We have a job to do."

"Alright!" said Tidus, pumping his fist. "What's the job?"

"Um, well," Yuna stumbled. "The short answer is: We save the world, or something. There's a more detailed answer, but I haven't worked out all those details. I'm going to need everyone's help, there's going to be a lot of moving parts to this, and… uh."

"Don't worry," Lulu said, putting her hand on Yuna's shoulder. "We're behind you all the way."

"Thank you," said Yuna. "Let's get to work."


	29. Chapter 29

Overlooking the town of Balamb, Sephiroth stood high on the mountain housing its temple. Frost had covered the rocky terrain and patches of grass. Putting his hand to the ground and pressing his fingers through the snow, a dark aura of energy flowed out of the surface of the mountain and into Sephiroth.

"Don't you struggle now, Ifrit," Sephiroth whispered. "You're mine."

Meanwhile, deep within the mountain, the SeeDs continued battling against Cloud and his party to gain control of Balamb temple's Aeon. The Chamber of the Fayth was indiscriminately battered by their fighting.

Having fought back Yuffie and Vincent, Irvine cautiously approached Ifrit, who was still tied down. Ifrit snarled, expressing discomfort, but was otherwise docile. Irvine shook the nerves from his hands and blew on his fingers.

"It's been a while since I've drawn one of these," said Irvine, extending his hand to Ifrit's head. "Alright, come to papa."

At that moment, the Aeon responded to Sephiroth's call. It roared in agony. With renewed strength, Ifrit broke free of Yuffie's restraints, tearing the wire that held its head down and, with its hand tied to the stone pillar, pulled the entire pillar from its place. Ifrit swung its hand, flinging the support pillar directly at Irvine, smashing it on his person and knocking him into a wall. Everyone's attention turned to the Aeon, halting the fight. Ifrit began to twitch and spasm violently. A dark energy appeared to emanate from it.

Seeing a break in the action, Seymour conjured up a powerful fire spell and pushed it into the floor, sending streaks of fire outward from him. All the combatants took cover. He dashed over to Seifer and picked him off the ground.

"This is our cue to exit," Seymour said. "May you all perish quickly."

Together, Seifer and Seymour jumped up into the small hole in the ceiling, disappearing into the darkness. A moment later, the two emerged from a small cave on the mountain's surface. They found Sephiroth, still kneeling, drawing the energy into himself.

"How fare the temple's guests, gentlemen?" Sephiroth asked.

"Probably on their way to hell," Seifer answered. "Or at the very least feeling its heat."

"And your hold on the Aeon?" Seymour asked Sephiroth.

"I have it," said Sephiroth. "And I decided that I'm going to have some fun; let Ifrit stretch its legs."

Back inside the Chamber of the Fayth, Ifrit was surrounded by Cloud and Squall's forces. They were all keeping outside of swiping range.

"Should some of us follow them, Squall?" asked Rinoa asked.

"No, we've got bigger fish to fry," Squall answered.

"By the look of that Aeon," Red XIII said. "I think he's confused about who's about to get fried."

Ifrit slammed his hands on the ground, shaking the room, and digging his claws into the floor. It opened its mouth and began conjuring a ball of fire and lightning, growing large and unstable. Ifrit violently shook, unable to hold back its attack any longer. The ball of fire was shot at the floor and detonated with a force that tore apart the chamber. The top of the temple exploded, scattering the SeeDs and Cloud's group all over the cavern that housed the temple.

Cloud landed hard at the foot of the temple. Ifrit leapt from the burning ruins of the Chamber of the Fayth, landing in front of Cloud. The impact kicked up dust and a gust of wind, but Cloud held fast. He gripped his sword with both hands and planted his feet to strike.

"Cloud, stop!" shouted Squall. "We NEED this! We're not just some power-hungry mercs. We need that GF to keep people safe!"

"Then we want the same thing," Cloud said. "But you need to trust me. The world is better off with this thing gone."

Cloud began charging at Ifrit and Squall moved to intercept him. Suddenly, Cloud became paralyzed with pain. After being stopped in his tracks for a moment, he collapsed. Squall, confused by this sudden affliction, stopped in front of Cloud to take a closer look at him.

"No…" thought Cloud. "Not now… Let me just… finish this…"

Cloud propped himself up with his sword, but couldn't stand. Squall lowered his blade, seeing that Cloud was done in this fight. But Tifa, blinded fear for Cloud's safety, tackled Squall and threw him aside. She then ran over to Cloud and tried to pick him up. Looking over her shoulder, Tifa spotted an enraged Ifrit, pouncing at them. She covered Cloud, shielding him from Ifrit's sharp claws, but Vincent swooped in, to their aid in his Chaos form.

Ifrit took a swing at Chaos, who caught it by the wrist, matching its strength. Chaos spread his wings, lifting himself off the ground, and slugged Ifrit, pressing it into the ground.

Tifa grabbed Cloud under his arms and dragged him away from the clash between Ifrit and Chaos. Yuffie dashed over to Tifa and Cloud, crouching next to them.

"What happened to Cloud?" asked Yuffie. "Is he hurt?"

"Whatever happened on the airship is happening again," Tifa answered. "God, I knew it."

"Well, what do we do now?" Yuffie asked.

"The plan hasn't changed," Tifa said, looking over at Chaos and Ifrit. "Vincent might be able to kill it, but we need to keep the SeeDs off him."

"Hear that, everyone?!" Yuffie shouted to her companions. "Keep these punks away from Vince!"

Yuffie's voice echoing inside the cavern was a call to fighters on both sides. Everyone picked themselves up and readied themselves for a second round. Quistis and Zell had landed on one of the lower levels of the temple's exterior and found Red XIII and Cid looking up at them from the level below. Barret approached Irvine near the entrance of the cavern. Tifa and Yuffie left Cloud to rest and walked over to Rinoa and Selphie, who stood between them and Chaos and Ifrit.

"Tifa, give it up," Rinoa said. "We have a history with Seifer and we know if he's here, then there's something bad going down. This isn't the real fight."

"Good," Tifa said. "If that's the attitude you've got going into this, then we can put you down nice and easy."

Tifa pumped her fists together, knocking dust off her hands. In response, Selphie whipped her nunchaku around in an intimidating fashion.

"Nah, we elect the _hard_ way," Selphie said. "And if there's one thing we're good at, it's making it _hard_."

"Yeah, _difficult_ ," Rinoa added.

"Yeah, _hard_. The more you fight, the _harder_ we're going to make it," Selphie snarled.

"Oh, god," Tifa reeled. "At this point, I'd prefer the sweet release of death than to listen to your twisted relationship with combat."

"Don't say 'twist'," Rinoa sighed. "That'll just make it worse."

"Forget this," said Yuffie, stepping forward and throwing a small bomb at Rinoa and Selphie's feet.

Upon impact, a blinding light and deafing pop caused the two SeeDs to stumble backward, covering their faces. Tifa vaulted over Yuffie and bodyslammed Rinoa and Selphie, throwing herself across the two of them. After slamming them on the ground, Tifa picked the two of them up and knocked Selphie and Rinoa's heads together. She then threw the two behind her in a heap.

"OW!" yelled Selphie, pushing Rinoa off of her.

"Was that a flashbang?" Rinoa asked, rubbing her forehead.

"Well, there was definitely a flash and a bang," said Selphie as she sat up. "We need a plan."

Rinoa crawled over to Selphie. "What do you have in mind?" she whispered.

"You know that move you do with Angelo?" Selphie whispered back.

Yuffie and Tifa watched as Selphie and Rinoa sat on the ground, with their backs turned, whispering to each other.

"What are they doing?" asked Yuffie.

"I dunno," answered Tifa. "I hit them pretty hard. They might be calling it quits."

Suddenly, Rinoa spun around to face Tifa and Yuffie. She pointed her blaster edge at them with Selphie mounted on it. A look of confusion and terror washed over their faces. Rinoa fired Selphie directly at them. Thinking fast, Yuffie rolled out of the line of fire. Selphie flew straight at Tifa, holding her nunchaku in front.

Catching Tifa around the neck with her nunchaku's chain, Selphie flipped over Tifa, pulling her backward. Selphie threw Tifa over her shoulder, by the neck, slamming her into the ground. Yuffie threw her shuriken at Selphie, hoping to strike her in the back, but as soon as it left her hand, it was shot out of the air by Rinoa's blaster edge.

With Tifa down and Yuffie unarmed, Selphie and Rinoa charged Yuffie. Selphie swung her weapon at Yuffie's legs to trip her, but Yuffie lifted herself off the ground and scissor kicked Selphie in the head, knocking her to the ground.

Rinoa leapt into the air, cocking her arm back. She punched at Yuffie as she landed, but was evaded. With her blaster edge loaded, Rinoa swiped at Yuffie with the sharp edge. Yuffie sprung a hidden blade from her gauntlet. It tore through the fabric on her wrist just in time to parry Rinoa's attack.

Yuffie grabbed Rinoa's arm with the blaster edge and yanked her towards herself. As Rinoa stumbled forward, Yuffie kicked backward, over her own shoulder, hitting Rinoa in the chin. She then kicked forward, sweeping Rinoa's feet, and slammed her into the ground.

Standing on what remained of the Balamb temple, Red XIII and Cid looked up at Zell and Quistis on the level above them.

"So, are you gonna come up?" asked Zell. "Are we coming down? How's this gonna work?"

"How 'bout you two turn around and fall backwards, like a trust fall. We'll catch you, promise," said Cid, propping his spear up at them.

Quistis and Zell both jumped down, landing between Cid and Red XIII, who were forced to leap backward. Quistis pushed Red back further still using her whip. Rushing up to Cid, Zell attacked with a flurry of punches. Struggling to keep up with Zell, Cid allowed himself to take a hit to swing his spear at Zell's legs, sweeping him onto his back.

Looking over her shoulder, Quistis saw Zell on his back with Cid about to strike. She quickly grabbed Zell with her whip and pulled him out from under Cid's spear, which pierced the ground beneath. Standing to his feet, Zell went back to back with Quistis.

"Switch it up?" asked Quistis.

The two SeeDs swapped enemies. Zell and Red XIII charged at each other. Red gnashed at Zell, who grabbed him by the jaws and held him back. In a panic, Red XIII began violently shaking his head around. Zell was thrown off balance and slammed against the wall of the temple.

Quistis struck at Cid's feet with her whip, but was parried by his spear. With her whip wrapped around his weapon, Cid yanked Quistis closer. Bracing herself, she was still dragged toward him. Seeing that Cid grabbed the whip to reel her in, Quistis leapt into the air and pulled herself toward him, extending her feet. She kicked Cid square in the chest, sending him flying backward and pulling his spear from his grasp.

Quistis flipped backward off of Cid, grabbing his weapon out of the air. Picking himself off the ground, Cid saw Quistis charging him with his own weapon. With both hands on the spear, Quistis thrust it at Cid, who managed to catch it inches from his chest. The two struggled for control over the spear for a moment. Cid pushes the spear over his shoulder, causing Quistis to stumble forward. He kicks her in the stomach and knocks her backward, pulling his spear out of her hands.

Red XIII stood on his hind legs and swiped his claws at Zell, who caught him by the paws. Zell headbutt Red XIII, knocking him backward. Quickly recovering, Red struck back by headbutting Zell in the stomach, causing him to double over. With Zell stunned, Red XIII grabbed Zell's collar with his mouth and tossed him high into the air. On his way down, Red kicked Zell with his hind legs, like a horse, sending him crashing down to the bottom of the temple.

With an enemy on either side of her, Quistis conjured up a special attack. Her cheeks puffed up, as if holding back something tremendous. Red XIII and Cid both lunged at her. Quistis evaded them, leaping backward into the air. Focusing on her two attackers, Quistis opened her mouth, pushing out a powerful stream of water magic. Cid and Red were caught in the water as it poured down the side of the temple and were both swept away by the current of Quistis' attack.

At the bottom of the temple, Cid and Red XIII picked themselves up, completely soaked.

"Please tell me that water was magic and not organic," Red XIII said.

Irvine rested his rifle on his shoulder and pointed a finger gun at Barret. He pulled it back and made a gun sound with his mouth. Barret just stood there with his arms crossed.

"I don't really know what else to do, big man," said Irvine. "I'm not too hot about shooting someone unarmed… That's not a joke about your prosthetic arm, if that's what you're thinking."

"I'm actually thinking about how far I can throw you, swinging you around by your ponytail," Barret said.

"Okay, I take it back. Now I mean for that to be a joke about your arm," Irvine scoffed.

Barret transformed his metal arm into his gun and began firing at Irvine. Overcome by surprise, Irvine began diving and rolling out of the way, eventually finding cover behind a stone post with a torch on top, acting as a lamp-like structure. Irvine peeked around the lamp and returned fire. Converting his gun back into his arm, Barret held out his hand, blocking Irvine's shots, and began closing the distance between the two of them.

As Barret approached, he grabbed Irvine's gun, covering the barrel. With his other hand, Barret grabbed Irvine by the neck and lifted him of the ground. He tore Irvine's rifle from his hands, tossed it aside, and knocked him against the stone lamp. Barret then threw Irvine on the ground, grinning as he watched him roll. Barret walked over to put him down for the count, but suddenly felt someone grab him around the waist. He was then lifted off the ground.

"Next stop: Supplex City!" yelled Zell, as he dropped Barret backward, slamming him on the ground.

From the ground, Zell kicked up to a standing position. Irvine slowly picked himself up. Zell grabbed Irvine's gun and tossed it over to him. Barret sat kneeling next to the stone lamp. He rolled his shoulders back in pain and looked up at Zell and Irvine.

"Had enough?" Zell said, flexing his arms.

Barret struck the bottom of the stone lamp, causing it to crumble with his metal arm. The pillar fell toward Irvine and Zell, making them leap out of the way. The flame atop the lamp hit the ground and fire spread from the point of impact, distracting Irvine. Barret ran over toward Zell. The two of them punched at each other, Zell's fist making contact with Barret's metal fist.

Zell grabbed his hand and yelled in pain. Barret grabbed Zell by the face and slammed him on the ground. Barret's eyes rose to see Irvine kicking up embers at him. Covering his face, Barret left himself open for Irvine to attack. Irvine jumped up and kicked Barret onto his back. Standing over Barret, Irvine pointed his gun down at him. They both knew the fight was over, but in a moment of mercy, Irvine turned his rifle around and butted Barret in the head, knocking him out.


	30. Chapter 30

Laying face down, Squall looked up to see Chaos and Ifrit in combat. The two titans were trading blows like they were cards. In an act of primal frustration, Ifrit carved two pieces of rock from the ground and proceeded to smash them against Chaos, who braced himself with his arms covering his face and his wings wrapping around his body.

"I have to put myself into _that_ fight?" Squall thought. "Unbelievable."

Each strike against Chaos' body wore down the rocks in Ifrit's hands. Suddenly, Chaos opened his wings and arms, erupting in energy. A monstrous shockwave pushed Ifrit backward. Raising his hand into the air, Chaos summoned his weapon, Death Penalty. Ifrit lunged at Chaos, but was mercilessly blasted in the chest with a devastating beam of energy. The shot tore up the ground it covered and pushed the Aeon into the temple wall, making an Ifrit-shaped hole.

Seeing Ifrit on the brink of defeat, Chaos hovered over and put his gun against its head. Chaos began charging up another round to bury Ifrit once and for all. From behind Chaos, Squall leapt over, landing between him and Ifrit, and blasted Chaos in the chest with his gunblade. Chaos staggered backward, misfiring his gun across the cavern ceiling. Rocks, large and small alike, began raining down onto the battlefield below.

Summoning up all his strength, Squall's gunblade began to glow. Anticipating an attack, Chaos held Death Penalty up to block Squall's incoming strike. With all his might, Squall cut straight through Chaos' defense. Death Penalty burst into light and disintegrated. Squall proceeded to relentlessly slash Chaos, over and over. With one final strike, Squall cut through him. Chaos froze, turning grey in color, then crumbled into dust, dropping a nearly lifeless Vincent to the ground.

Sapped of all his energy, Squall slowly stumbled toward Ifrit. Reaching out, Squall put his hand on Ifrit, ready to draw its power unto himself. At that moment, a strange shadow overtook Ifrit, engulfing it. Ifrit slowly faded away. Squall turned around in confusion, looking for the Aeon. Instead he saw all his friends and rivals, battered and beaten. Vincent, using every ounce of strength he had, stood up and approached Squall. He grabbed Squall by the collar; half falling on him, half threatening him.

"Do you know what you just did?" whispered Vincent. "Do you know how many lives you just doomed?"

A look of despair crept over Squall's face. For the first time since the SeeDs found themselves here, he felt that he may have made a big mistake. With Vincent now just leaning on him, Squall lowered him down to the ground.

Outside, on the mountainside, Sephiroth finally rose to his feet with the last of the dark energy flowing into him. He closed his fist in front of him and it glowed red with the power of Ifrit.

"Let's move out," Sephiroth said to Seymour and Seifer. "This graveyard is no place to celebrate our victory."

Seymour began making his way down the mountain with Seifer close behind.

"That guy gives me the creeps sometimes," said Seifer. "But whatever gets the job done."

Closing his eyes and summoning up his strength, Sephiroth punched the ground beneath him, cracking the surface of the mountain. The force could be felt all the way down to the temple cavern below, already weakened by the battle.

The ceiling began caving in. With nowhere to run or to take cover, the members of AVALANCHE and the SeeDs were sent into a panic, trying to find each other in the chaos. Still paralyzed, Cloud could to nothing but watch his friends become buried by the falling rocks.

Sometime later, Cloud found himself, not paralyzed, but stuck; trapped. He desperately squirmed to free himself from the cave-in. After a few moments, he could hear and feel a shift in the rocks. They were being moved. A moment later, sunlight could be seen shining in, and a hand reached towards him. He grabbed it and it pulled him free.

Sephiroth held Cloud up by the wrist. Widening his eyes, Cloud punched with his free hand, as if it were a reflex. Sephiroth caught it easily, and then gripped Cloud by the throat. He then threw Cloud over his shoulder and slammed him down on the ground, still choking him.

"Sephiroth," Cloud gasped. "You son of a-"

"Goddess, I know," interrupted Sephiroth. "And I'm happy to see you alive, as well, Cloud."

"This was you, wasn't it?" Cloud snarled. "The Aeons, the temples. All this suffering is you."

"Let's not forget these pesky headaches of yours," Sephiroth answered, tapping Cloud on the forehead, sending a streak of pain through his head. "No one could do it better. But enough about what I _have_ been doing, I want you to see what I am _going_ to do."

"And what is that?" asked Cloud.

"Please, Cloud," smiled Sephiroth. "I want you to be surprised when you see it. All that I can say is that this world is a failing body. I have crippled its limbs, numbed its nerves, gouged out its eyes, and soon I will break its heart. Once that is done, you will watch it fall into despair, and then, and only then, when this land has drowned in its own pain and suffering, I will cut off its head. And I want you to witness it all."

"I'm going to stop you, Sephiroth," Cloud said.

"I know you will try," Sephiroth said. "But I simply cannot allow that. This is the last time before the end that you will see me. There is no evil lair, no hideout, no fortress, and no lead for you to follow. This is personal. I will not give you the chance to interfere. Goodbye."

With a swift punch to the head, Cloud was knocked unconscious.


	31. Chapter 31

Yuna, her guardians, and the Gullwings, accompanied by several of Bevelle's councilors, entered what was formally Seymour's office. They passed through the meeting room and walked into the room where the battle with Omega Weapon took place. The rubble had been cleared and a few workers had begun repairing the damage to the room.

In the centre of the room, a large circular table had been brought in. It appeared to be an interactive console detailing Bevelle's economic, military, historical, and infrastructure records. It also had a birdseye view of Bevelle's network of streets and buildings. Everyone approached the table and gathered around it.

"That's cool!" said Tidus, pointing at the table.

One of the councilwomen gestured to the map, grabbing at it and lifting it up. The network of streets and buildings shot up into a three dimensional model of the city. She swiped at it, spinning the city around.

"I take it back," Tidus said. " _That's_ cool."

"This console allows us to monitor the city's statistics and needs," the woman said. "You can also use it to relay commands to different departments in Bevelle."

"That's a lot of power for someone to control," Yuna said.

"You're our leader now, Lady Yuna," a councilman said. "This power was entrusted to you."

Yuna took a deep breath, and began experimenting with the table's interface.

"Alright. Well, let's start with the attack yesterday. The one from the fiends, not, um, ours," said Yuna, nervously looking around the table. "Do we have a detail of the casualties?"

"A few hundred of our guards; about a quarter of our military force was killed yesterday," said the councilwoman. "And about forty civilians."

Yuna sighed and rubbed her brow.

"The general and many of his lieutenants quit last night. With no general and a broken chain of command, we are left in a difficult situation," the man said. "I'm sorry to say, a great number of our military ranks blame you, Lady Yuna, for the arrival of the monsters, many civilians, too."

"What?!" said Wakka. "That's ridiculous! It was all Seymour!"

"Whatever the case may be," the man said. "It is what the people believe that fuels their distrust."

"So, we need some new military leaders," Yuna said.

Yuna began looking around the table.

"We need people who will inspire our troops. I pick… Tidus!" Yuna pointed. "And… Paine!"

"Excuse you?" Paine said.

"Alright!" cheered Tidus, approaching Paine for a high five.

"What exactly makes you think this is a good idea?" Paine asked.

"It's just a feeling I have," Yuna answered.

"Listen, Yuna, over the past few years, we've been led around by these 'feelings' of yours, and somehow things have worked out," Paine snapped. "I like to think I've tolerated a lot, but now you're putting me and Tidus at the head of an army?! On a whim?! It's not me, and it's not wise, either."

Everyone around the console looked at Paine with surprise. Overcome with a mixture of embarrassment and frustration, Paine stormed off, leaving the room. Disheartened, Yuna's shoulders sank and she hung her head.

"Don't worry about her," Tidus said, putting his hand on Yuna's shoulder. "She'll come around. Trust me. You focus on Bevelle."

Yuna looked up at him. Tidus gave Yuna a thumbs-up and a wink, and then walked off after Paine. Yuna took another deep breath.

"Lady Yuna," the councilwoman spoke up. "It might be a good idea for the citizens to see you face to face. What do you think?"

"That sounds right," Yuna said.

"We can prepare a speech for you; a public address," she continued. "Something to turn the people onto your side."

"What, like a rally?" asked Yuna. "If I may, I think I'll take a different approach."

"A parade then! To show off our new military leadership!" said the man with excitement. "We'll get it on every screen we can!"

"No no no," Yuna laughed nervously. "You can leave the rest to us."

The councilors nodded, some with slight hesitance, and proceeded to leave the chamber. Lulu began interfacing with the table.

"What's on your mind, Yuna?" Lulu asked.

"Well," Yuna began. "Even though Seymour was behind the fiends appearing yesterday, I can't help but think that if we hadn't shown up, he wouldn't have unleashed them; people wouldn't have died."

"Yeah, it sucks we have to clean up his mess," Buddy agreed.

"Some think Yuna is enemy," Kimahri said. Yuna needs to show that she is friend, leader. Enemy divides. Leader unites. Yuna must unite people."

"You're absolutely right, Kimahri," Yuna smiled. "I think I know what to do, now."

"This is a lot of stuff to take in," said Lulu, flipping through different files on the console. "You want me to take some of this off your plate?"

"Yes, please!" Yuna sighed.

"Not without me, you're not," said Shinra. "This is a wealth of information we're sitting on. It could really help with my… ahem, R&D."

"I know what to do!" yelled Brother, triumphantly. "Gullwing bhybekerte!"

"What'd he say?" asked Wakka.

"No!" yelled Rikku. "No propaganda! Just… stand by on the Celsius in case we need to fly!"

"I don't take orders from little sisters!" Brother challenged. "Yuna what should I do?"

"How about you be my chauffer?" Yuna smiled. "In case I need to I need to get around."

Brother gave Yuna a strong and dutiful salute, and marched off.

"He's obedient almost to a fault," Buddy said, following Brother.

Meanwhile, in Bevelle's hangar, where the Celsius was parked, Tidus caught up with Paine, who stood staring at the airship.

"Hey," said Tidus.

Paine scoffed, ignoring him.

"Hey!" said Tidus, much louder.

"Can you take a hint?!" Paine shouted, turning toward him.

"Whoa!" Tidus said, backing up. "What's going on with you?"

"Was I not clear enough back there? Did I stutter?" Paine said, angrily.

"Listen, I get that we don't know each other super well, but I've seen that you're able to keep your cool when you need to," Tidus said. "So, something else must be happening. Come on, what's eating you?"

"What's it to you?" asked Paine.

"More than you think," Tidus said, softly. "Yuna's counting on us. I know you get that. We have to trust Yuna… because she trusts us."

Paine said nothing. She stood there letting herself be affected by Tidus' words.

"You know, fighting is a lot like blitzball. Sometimes you need to defend, sometimes you need to attack, and you need to be able to switch it up like that," Tidus said, snapping his fingers. "They both have teammates, and those teammates need a captain to cheer them on, give them that extra push when the chips are down."

"And you know how it's different? Fighting is not a game!" said Paine, pushing passed Tidus.

"That's why you're here!" said Tidus, stopping Paine from walking off. "Yuna chose you because you have a strength that we need. Yesterday, when we got here, Yuna chose you to defend her from Squall and his guys. She let me chase after Seymour, but you fought the life or death fight. You think she made this decision on a whim, but she made it on instinct. She needs someone to take our troops, build them up, and lead them forward. I can build them up, but _you_ can lead them."

Paine stood there for a moment. "You're wrong, you know," she said. "Before you guys beat Sin, I was part of the Crimson Squad; an elite force, above the Crusaders. I was a sphere recorder, but I was there in all the fights, I saw everything, I was as much a part of it as anyone. You know how that ended? The squad was betrayed, massacred. Even though my group and I survived, we were sentenced to death. We were hunted and I ended up with a bullet in my back. Forgive me if my last military experience leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

Tidus had nothing to say to that. Paine walked off, leaving him alone in the hangar.


	32. Chapter 32

The gates to the tower in Bevelle opened as Yuna, Wakka, Kimahri, and Rikku exited. The four of them could see a fairly large crowd of citizens gathered in the town square where they fought the SeeDs. As they approached, they observed a memorial for the people killed the day before.

As Yuna and her guardians walked closer, they noticed the stares from some of the townspeople; the blame and anger in their eyes. Feeling the gaze of the memorial-goers, Yuna walked to the front of the crowd and took in the sight.

Many pictures of the victims were left by their friends and loved ones. Flowers, candles, letters, and personal belongings accompanied them. Helmets and pieces of armor indicated which victims were soldiers who died in the fight.

Since defeating Sin and Vegnagun, Yuna thought her days of mass funerals and vigils were behind her. As her mind returned to those days, she felt herself grip her wand and walk into the middle of the memorial. Soon, all eyes were on Yuna. Stretching her old muscles as a summoner, she began performing a sending for the dead. The crowd of people became entranced by the dance.

"Is she sending them?" Rikku whispered.

"Looks like it," Wakka said. "I don't think they do that here; there aren't any pyreflies, but I guess that's Yuna's own way of trying to help the people heal."

"Yeah, look at the townspeople," Rikku pointed.

All the looks of anger had melted away. Even though they did not know what Yuna was doing, they understood that this was a respect for the victims and their loved ones. As Yuna danced, the flame of the candles on the memorial and in the crowd intensified, dimmed, and flickered, as if to dance along with her.

The people wept and embraced each other. After a few minutes, Yuna's sending concluded. Emotionally drained, she walked back into the welcoming arms of her guardians. As she looked back at the crowd, she was met with looks of understanding, comforted knowing that she could be part of the healing process. Soon, the townspeople began to gather around Yuna, greeting her to Bevelle, and in turn, she tried to personally console each of them.

Later in the day, Yuna, Kimahri, Rikku, and Wakka began walking the streets of Bevelle, visiting landmarks and shops. Crowds of children followed, wanting to play with them and show them around the city. Wakka attracted residents interested in learning about blitzball, some kids would cautiously approach and observe Kimahri, while others would playfully growl at him, hoping he would growl back. Rikku ended up telling the tales of how Yuna beat Sin and Vegnagun, saving Spira. Soon, whispers spread through the entire city of Lady Yuna's kindness.

Up in the spire, Lulu and Shinra continued pouring over the information on the city.

"This is frustrating," Shinra said. "Interesting, but frustrating."

"What is?" asked Lulu.

"I've been looking for a way to wirelessly access the system's network so I can read this from the Celsius," Shinra said. "But I'm running into the same problem I had trying to scan this place. No signals going in or out of these walls. So, I'm trying to find out what I can about this building itself."

"And what did you find out?" Lulu asked.

"Therein lies the interest and frustration," answered Shinra. "I cannot find a single record regarding this spire. No blueprint, floor plan, not even an address."

"Let me look on a more broad scale…" Lulu said, scanning more files. "Strange… the historical files look incomplete. Like there are-"

"Gaps?" interrupted Shinra.

"Exactly," Lulu said. "Someone doesn't want the records of this spire to surface."

"Control, Alt, Conspiracy," Shinra chuckled to himself. "I _cannot_ wait to get to the bottom of this."

"I wonder…" Lulu whispered, peering at the hole in the wall made by Omega Weapon. "What was Seymour doing before we lost him?"

Lulu approached the room Seymour escaped from the day before. She could see shelves and shelves of books, some recently disturbed.

"No time to delete these, huh," Lulu whispered, as she entered the room. "Let's see what you're hiding."

Carefully searching the room, Lulu collected several books that looked to have been recently used. Shinra walked in as she laid them out on a desk. He approached them, reading the titles.

"'Bevelle: the Heart of the Land', 'The Science and Magic of the Fayth', 'Temples and Aeons'," Shinra said, looking at the books. "and 'The Knights of the Round'."


	33. Chapter 33

Cloud was sore all over. Opening his eyes even felt painful. He awoke in a bed surrounded by curtains, with a bright light hanging over him. Beyond the curtain, Cloud could hear people walking around. After a few minutes of wondering where he was, the curtains in front of his bed parted and a man in medical clothing poked his head in.

"Oh, hey, man! How're you feeling?" the man asked.

Cloud said nothing, and tried looking out the opening in the curtains.

"Excuse me, sir!" the man called to someone out of Cloud's sight, before walking away. "Another one of your friends are awake!"

The man was soon replaced by Cid, who walked in scratching his neck, as if irritated by something.

"'Bout damn time," Cid said. "Lousy doctors tell me I can't smoke in here. Says it's 'not good for the other patients' or somethin'."

"Doctors? Where exactly are we? Where's Tifa?" asked Cloud.

"We're in a hospital in Balamb," Cid answered. "After gettin' buried in that mountain, the townsfolk pulled together and dug us all out, brought us here."

"That's good," Cloud sighed. "Is everyone alright?"

"More or less," Cid shrugged. "They're all awake, at least. Funny, you were in the best shape, but the last to wake up. Guess you're just lazy."

"Yeah, well," Cloud said sitting up. "I think I'm done with that, now."

Pulling himself to the side of his bed, Cloud could feel that he was not yet back to his full strength. He tried to stand, but stumbled, luckily being caught by Cid. Struggling to stand, Cloud looked into the rest of the room. They were in a long room with beds lining each side. He could see all of his friends and the SeeDs, as well. Some of them had even made friends with the people they were fighting just a short while ago.

"The SeeDs are here, too?" asked Cloud.

"That's what I said!" Cid barked. "The hell you think I mean by 'all'?"

Cloud sat down on the edge of his bed, visibly strained just from standing. From the other side of the room, Cloud heard very quick, very loud footsteps approaching him. When they stopped, he looked up to see Tifa standing in front of him with a stern look on her face and her arms crossed. Cid slowly slide away.

"Hey, Tifa," Cloud said, softly.

"I don't know if I'm more relieved to see you up," Tifa began. "Or upset."

"I'm…I'm sorry, Tifa," Cloud said.

"Do you even know what you're apologizing for?!" snapped Tifa.

Cloud said nothing.

"You don't, do you?" Tifa said. "I tried to keep you out of the battle, and you refused. Then you go and freak out right in the middle of the fight. Not only did you give me a heart attack, you threw the fight for us. Now that Aeon's out there somewhere."

"Sephiroth," Cloud said.

"What? What Sephiroth?" asked Tifa.

"He was here," Cloud answered. "He took the Aeon, all of the Aeons. He's the reason I've been freezing up… He's got a hold on me again."

"Great…" Tifa sighed. "Hang on. How long have you known that Sephiroth has been doing this to you?"

"Since the night we arrived here," Cloud answered.

"That long?" Tifa asked. "Is that what you and Vincent were talking about that night on the Shera?"

Cloud nodded.

"I don't believe this," said Tifa, turning away from Cloud. "You stay here and rest up. We're going to go after Sephiroth. We'll pick you up when this is done."

"No, I'm coming with you," said Cloud, standing up.

"No, you're not!" shouted Tifa, grabbing him by the collar and throwing him back on his bed. "Look at yourself! You're a liability! You can barely stand, and you're an idiot!"

Everyone in the room stopped and looked at Tifa and Cloud.

"Tifa, we don't have time for 'I told you so'," Cloud groaned.

"No kidding!" Tifa yelled. "We wait two days for you to wake up, only to find out that you can't even help us! And I _did_ tell you so!"

"That's not tru- Wait, two days?" Cloud asked.

"Come on, everyone, we're wasting time," Tifa said, stomping out of the room.

The rest of AVALANCHE slowly followed Tifa out, reluctantly leaving Cloud behind. Trying to stand up, trying to even move, Cloud squirmed in his bed, tiring himself out. Out of breath, Cloud noticed Squall approaching his bedside, entering the curtain area.

"Sorry that your friends left you behind," Squall said.

"I need to go after them," Cloud panted.

"Look, Tifa has a point," Squall sighed. "You can't even move. I don't think you have a choice but to sit this out."

"She said two days. It's been two days since the fight in the temple?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah," answered Squall. "We've kind of been hanging out until we're all healed up, but now we're just about ready to go."

"You need to take me with you, Squall," Cloud said. "I need to go after Sephiroth."

"What? No," said Squall.

"The Aeons you're after. Sephiroth is the one that's been taking them," Cloud said. "He's the one attacking the temples. Along with Seymour and that other guy."

"If they've got the GFs, shouldn't we be going after them?" Quistis asked, approaching Squall and Cloud. "I mean, that's why we're here."

"We just got our butts kicked fighting over just _one_ of them," said Irvine, stepping up behind Quistis. "You sure we should track down the guy with _all_ of them?"

"Even if that's what we want to do," said Selphie, pushing past everyone to get her word in. "Do we know where to go?"

"Hang on," Zell said, running up to the conversation. "Seifer, Seymour, and Sephiroth? Why does everyone's name start with S?"

"Hey, what are we all talking about in here?" Rinoa asked, approaching the very crowded bedside.

"Everyone. Back. Up," ordered Squall. "These are all very good questions, but Selphie's right, even if we were going after these guys, we have no idea where they are, okay? Sorry, Cloud, but we're not helping you on your wild goose chase."

"You don't understand what Sephiroth is capable of," Cloud said. "He told me he would destroy this place, piece by piece. He said he would break it's heart or something. I don't know exactly what that means, but if he sets his mind to it then he's going to do it."

"Hold up," Squall said. "What's this about a heart?"

"I don't know," Cloud answered. "He's going to break this place, crack it open or something."

"I mean did he specifically say 'heart'?" Squall asked.

Cloud nodded. Squall looked around at the rest of the SeeDs. They all had the same revelatory look in their eyes.

"Guys!" Zell yelled. "He's talking about Bevelle! That Seymour guy was always talking about Bevelle as the 'heart of this land'! I did it! I figured it out!"

"Yes. Thank you, Zell," Squall sighed. "So he's going to 'break' Bevelle?"

"Wait, where's Bevelle?" asked Cloud.

"It's like the capital city of this place," answered Quistis. "It's full of people. We have to get over there."

"But they have a two day head start on us," Selphie said. "By this time they'd be there already. If he's unleashing the Aeons, Sephiroth would have done it by now."

"Sephiroth isn't really one for subtlety," Cloud said. "If the Aeons are loose, we'd know it. We might still be able to stop him. Take me with you. Please. I need to do something."

"Alright, fine," said Squall, putting his hand on his head. "Someone help him onto the ship."

"I got this," said Zell, helping Cloud onto his feet.

The SeeDs and Cloud began walking out of the hospital and through the town.

"Your girl seemed pretty steamed at you," said Zell. "You think we could count on your friends for help in this fight if we caught up with them?"

"If they knew where I was going, they probably wouldn't let me fight. Not after what happened in the temple," answered Cloud. "Hey, it's Zell, right? Could you do me a favor?"

Meanwhile, back on the Shera, AVALANCHE began preparing to leave Balamb. Tifa stood at the front of the bridge, awaiting takeoff, still upset about her exchange with Cloud at the hospital. Yuffie approached Barret, who had just entered the bridge.

"You think we did the right thing? Leaving Cloud behind like that?" asked Yuffie.

"I dunno," answered Barret. "I don't think _we_ did anything. There wasn't exactly a vote or nothing."

"Is there a problem?!" Tifa snapped.

"No no no!" Barret said. "Well… I just thought there might have been a better way to handle things, ya know? Maybe try to convince him to just stay on the ship next time…"

"You really think we'd be able to talk Cloud into _not_ fighting Sephiroth?" Vincent asked.

"We wouldn't," said Tifa. "It's for the best that he's in the hospital."

"Everyone, we need to get something straight," Red XIII said. "We're not at our strongest, right now. We all know this, which is why we have to trust in each other for the upcoming conflict. All of us. Together. Right, Tifa?"

"Right," Tifa sighed. "I'll be honest, I'm not glad to leave Cloud behind. I'm just scared for him. Like it or not, he's vulnerable, and we have to do this to protect him."

Suddenly, a deafening alarm sounded, accompanied by a red siren flashing.

"Who's opened the hangar?" Cid said, standing up, counting all his comrades on the bridge. "Who's opened the hangar?!"

Everyone rushed to the window and looked outside. Out from behind the Shera, Zell could be seen riding Cloud's motorcycle away from the ship. Popping a wheelie, he rode off out of sight, under the cover of trees. After a few moments, the Ragnarok breached the canopy of the forest ahead and flew off.

Tifa became red in the face and shook with anger. Seeing her vibrate in rage, Cid sat down in his seat silently and started the airship's engines, taking off after the SeeDs.


	34. Chapter 34

When Yuna and her guardians arrived in Bevelle three days earlier, the city believed her to be a threat. Three days later, she was their beloved leader. As Yuna sat in her new office, reviewing her itinerary for the day, Rikku laid on a couch, lounging.

"Yuniiiiiiiie," Rikku whined. "I'm boooooooored."

"You could always go help Shinra and Lulu," Yuna said, looking up from her desk.

"I said 'I'm bored.' Not 'I want to do boring stuff,'" Rikku said, sitting up. "Besides, exactly how much help do you think I'd be?"

"I'm going to choose not to answer that," Yuna said.

Just then, the elevator door opened up. Two guards emerged and approached Yuna.

"Excuse us, Lady Yuna," said one of the guards. "But there is a visitor on the bottom floor wishing to speak with you."

"Tell them I'm sorry, but I just can't interrupt my schedule right now, and that I'll have more time this evening while I'm out and about," Yuna said.

"I'll tell him, but it doesn't appear to be a social visit, ma'am," the guard replied. "He insisted you come down to speak with him. I can assemble some more guards and escort him from the premises if you wish."

"No, no, that won't be necessary," Yuna sighed. "Tell him I'll be down when I can."

The guards gave a slight bow and returned to the ground level.

"You just hate disappointing people, huh?" Rikku said.

"Listen, it wouldn't look good if I have visitors thrown out," Yuna explained. "Remember, we're here to earn everyone's trust. That sometimes means meeting people even when I'm not feeling up to it."

The double doors behind Yuna opened, and in walked Shinra and Lulu, carrying the books they had found two days earlier. They came around to the front of Yuna's desk and laid them out in front of her.

"So, did you guys learn anything from these?" Yuna asked.

"Sort of," Shinra shrugged.

"'Temples and Aeons'," Lulu said, pointing to a book. "It details all the Aeons from all the temples around here. Some I recognize and some are new to me. That goes for some of the temple names, too."

"Bikanel and Baaj. Sound familiar?" said Shinra. "Speaking of which, the Aeon at the Baaj temple; the three-headed dog is called Cerberus. The Bikanel temple housed Valefor, Ixion was in a place called Wutai, and Ifrit in Balamb."

"I'm guessing Bikanel isn't the desert island we know in Spira," Yuna said.

"Correct," Shinra said. "Bikanel is a tundra area. The rest of the temples are places we've never heard of with Aeons we've never heard of."

"The most puzzling book we've looked at is this one; 'Knights of the Round'," Lulu said, holding up another book. "According to this, there's an Aeon right here in Bevelle."

"Really?" asked Yuna. "Is there even a temple in this city?"

"No," answered Shinra. "At least not according to the city's records. We'd have to go door to door to be completely sure, but temples aren't exactly kept secret. Right?"

"Let's say that someone has a hard time keeping up with all the info you just spilled," Rikku said, approaching Yuna's desk. "You got any cue cards or anything breaking it down for me- I mean, that hypothetical person?"

"Well, you're more than welcome to join us when we go back to finish up these books," Lulu said. "You might learn these things and even speed up the work."

"Oh, yeah. That's up there on my things-to-do list, right behind upgrade the Celsius engine and give Kimahri a Ronso mani/pedi," Rikku said.

"Then, how about we go downstairs to see who's interrupting my schedule?" Yuna said, standing up.

"Isn't there room for like a relaxation representative in your inner circle?" asked Rikku, following Yuna to the elevator. "Maybe a minister of sunbathing?"

After a ride to the first floor of the spire, Rikku and Yuna entered the grand hall of the tower. Emerging from behind the stage, they saw a man with short hair and a long coat inspecting architecture of the room. They walked right up behind him, expecting him to turn around. Yuna cleared her throat.

"Hm?" said Seifer, turning to face Yuna and Rikku. "Oh, you must be Lady Yuna. The name's Seifer Almasy. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine," said Yuna. "How can I hel-"

"This place could use a proper waiting room though," Seifer interrupted, continuing to walk around the room. "This one makes me feel like I should be confessing something."

"How about confessing the reason you've come to speak with me?" Yuna asked.

"Right," said Seifer, clapping his hands together. "Business. You've got quite the reputation, Lady Yuna. From what I've heard around town, you're a genuine hero. Defeating giant monsters and evil robots in foreign lands; like something out of a comic book. And now you're here, leader of Bevelle. You've turned the people around in just a matter of days. Almost like magic. On top of that, you're a sorceress!"

"Summoner," said Yuna, through a smile.

"Oh, I don't mean it in a negative way," Seifer said. "I'm a big fan of sorcery. In fact, where I come from, I was known as a Sorceress's Knight. Cutting down her enemies, commanding her forces, taking care of any would-be resistors. I enjoyed it so much, I'd like to extend that same service to you, Lady Yuna."

Seifer gave a gentleman's curtsy with a grin.

"Mr. Almasy," Yuna began. "I'm very flattered, but I must decline. You see, I already have a great many of my friends fighting at my side. And I couldn't possibly ask a stranger to put himself in harm's way for me."

"Well, we should take some time to know each other a little better, don't you think?" said Seifer, stepping closer to Yuna. "One can never have too many 'friends', right?"

"Hold it, buster!" Rikku said, stepping in between the two. "Yunie maybe a polite lady, but I'm not! Polite, that is! You're getting a bit too familiar here. If you don't take a big step back right now, _you're_ the one who's going to need protection!"

"Hey, hey! I can take a hint," said Seifer, backing up. "I get it. You've got people to protect you. But I've heard certain rumors about the temples' beasts running loose. You think you've got enough swords to strike them down?"

"What do you know about the temples?" asked Yuna.

"Oh, nothing. Just that almost all the cities around here had their own Aeon tear down the walls of their temple," Seifer answered, tapping on a nearby support pillar. "Imagine what they could do if they all showed up here."

"Are you threatening me?" Yuna growled.

"No, of course not," Seifer said. "Just thinking about a worst case scenario. Like I said: I've heard rumors."

With that, Seifer turned around and walked out the front door. Yuna tightly gripped her staff as she watched him.

"I should have kicked his butt, shouldn't I?" said Rikku.

Yuna turned around and walked back to the elevator. Rikku followed. Upon returning to her office, Yuna and Rikku walked through the double doors to the chamber where Shinra and Lulu were working. They approached the table with Bevelle's network. Yuna began to interface with it.

"What do we call this thing anyway?" asked Rikku. "Holosphere? Sphere Table? City Sphere? City Sphere! Uh, what exactly are you doing, Yuna?"

"That Seifer guy," Yuna started. "He's got me worried."

"Yeah, he seems like a jerk, but he's just one guy," Rikku said.

"It's not just him, per se," Yuna said. "It's what he said about the Aeons. I've been so busy with Bevelle that I've had no time to think about what we do about those Aeons. Dealing with them is the reason we came here. It's time we do something about it."

"You got a plan?" asked Rikku.

"Not exactly," answered Yuna. "So, I think we should do something about our defenses in the meantime. I'm getting Tidus and Paine to put something together."

"I hope Paine's up to it," said Rikku. "I haven't really talked to her since her new 'promotion'."

"Me, too," sighed Yuna. "I've got to meet up with Kimahri and Wakka. Are you going to hang out here with Lulu and Shinra?"

"Yeah, I guess," groaned Rikku. "I can't figure out who's more boring: Those two or the books themselves."

An hour later, Tidus gathered the Bevelle soldiers inside the military headquarters. It was equipped with an armory, barracks, and training room. Inside the training room, Tidus stood in front of his troops. High above them, there was a catwalk connecting the training room to the armory on one end and the barracks on the other. Looking up, Tidus could see Paine sitting on the stairs leading up to the catwalk, watching them.

"Uh, hey everybody!" Tidus said to the soldiers. "I'm Tidus! And-and that's Paine up there! We're the new generals. Nice to meet you!"

The soldiers were mostly silent. Some murmurs could be heard between them. The most audible noise was the sound of Paine slapping her face into her palm.

"You know, an army is a lot like a blitzball team. You got to work on offense and defense. And you've got a captain!" said Tidus, pointing to himself. "And your captain is here to support you and cheer you on every step of the way! You can always count on your captain!"

"If we count on _you_ , then what exactly are _we_ supposed to do?" asked one of the soldiers.

"Well, you know. Me and Paine give the orders, and uh, you guys follow them, right?" said Tidus. "But don't worry! We're as much a part of this team as you!"

"I'm confused. So, are you guys soldiers or are you our generals?" asked another soldier.

"These are not soldiers or generals!" said a voice, pushing through the crowd of soldiers. "These are just children!"

The man that emerged from the army was the former general, Brackus. He wore blue armor, accented with silver, and a red cape. He drew a sword and held it above his head. Turning toward the rest of the army, he continued speaking.

"Children appointed by the usurper Yuna, the sorceress!" announced Brackus. "Have you forgotten?! These people invaded this city! And now you look to them for leadership?! No longer! I have returned to you, now that I see for my own eyes these children at play! They are unfit to lead this great city!"

"Shut. Your. Mouth," yelled Paine, from the bottom of the stairs. "If you cared about this city, you wouldn't have left in the first place."

"I left because I would not take orders from a child witch!" Brackus snarled. "Now, I resolve to retake Bevelle and return control of it to Maester Seymour!"

"Then go on," Paine said. "Take it. First you fight me, then you can fight Yuna, and anyone else you need to in order to satisfy yourself."

"Y-you should not invite death so willingly, girl," Brackus stuttered.

"Shut up and put up your sword," said Paine, slowly walking towards him, drawing her sword. "You do know how to use that, don't you?"

Brackus held his sword in front of him, shaking. As Paine approached, he slowly stepped backward. Soon, he and Paine were face to face. She grabbed his sword out of his hands and struck it with her own blade, shattering it.

"Hmph. Just for ceremony, I guess," said Paine.

Paine put the broken sword back in Brackus' hands and punched him in the face, knocking him on his back. Brackus stumbles onto his feet and runs away. Paine turns to walk away, but notices the entire army watching her.

"Yuna has orders to defend this city," Paine announced. "Let's not let her down."

The soldiers saluted Paine and Tidus. Paine looked at Tidus to see he was saluting, too. She returned a sharp salute to the army.

Brackus emerged from the military headquarters, out of breath.

"I take it you didn't get your old job back," said Seifer, putting his hand on his shoulder.

"Wh-who are you?" asked Brackus, pulling away from him.

"Your new best friend," Seifer said. "Lucky for you, I've got an opening that I think you are uniquely qualified for."


	35. Chapter 35

The Shera's speed was no match for the Ragnarok. Though it was trailing behind, the Shera's tracking capabilities allowed AVALANCHE to follow. Tifa stood anxiously at the front of the airship, looking out the windshield at the landscape below. Barret walked up to join her.

"What do you think Cloud's planning?" asked Barret. "Something reckless, I bet."

"You got that right," Tifa agreed. "Squall's group must know something we don't. Why would they agree to take Cloud with them after the fight at the temple?"

"Beats me," said Barret.

"I don't think we should be asking why," Vincent said, approaching the two. "I think our answers lie in 'where'. Where are we following them to? It must be a place where Cloud and Squall's objectives align."

"Well, Cloud's focused on Sephiroth," said Tifa, turning to Vincent. "That much is obvious."

"And we know Sephiroth is workin' with those other guys from the temple," Barret said. "They're behind all the trouble with the Aeons, right? Think they're goin' after another one?"

"Hard to say," Vincent answered. "But if Squall and Cloud have joined forces, I'd say the situation must be pretty desperate. Maybe we've underestimated it. We won't know until we're there."

Meanwhile, with a hefty lead on AVALANCHE, the SeeDs were planning their next steps with Cloud. Irvine, Quistis, Squall, Rinoa, and Cloud sat on the passenger deck, while Zell and Selphie piloted the airship in the cockpit above them.

"Do we have a plan for when we get back to Bevelle?" Quistis asked.

"Assuming we actually get there before Sephiroth does his thing," Squall began. "We should try to get the city caught up on what's going on. Maybe someone can shed some light on what they're planning."

"Plus, if everyone knows who to be looking out for," Irvine said. "There's no way they can sneak up on us, right?"

"Do you think Yuna and her people are still in Bevelle?" asked Rinoa. "If they know Seymour's involved, we can rally them to our cause."

"Those are good points," agreed Squall. "How does that sound, Cloud? Will that be enough to stop Sephiroth's plan?"

"Maybe," answered Cloud. "But even if we stop him from carrying out his plan, he'll still be dangerous. He'll still put up a fight."

"Agreed," said Squall. "When it comes down to that, are you going to be in fighting shape?"

"I don't think I'll have a choice," Cloud sighed.

"Why don't you find a quiet place to rest up before we get there?" Quistis suggested.

"Yeah, might as well," said Cloud, slowly standing up.

The doorway opened and shut as Cloud exited the passenger room. As soon as the door closed, Quistis turned to Squall.

"I didn't to ask while Cloud was here," Quistis began. "But have our priorities changed at all?"

"What do you mean?" asked Squall.

"I mean, now that we know Seifer is here, and very integral to what's been going on here," Quistis answered. "Who's our first target? Sephiroth or Seifer?"

"We set out to get Seifer, right?" said Irvine. "We should take our shot."

"We don't know Sephiroth like Cloud does," said Rinoa. "He sounds like the real deal. What do you think, Squall? If we have to make a choice, do we take down Sephiroth or Seifer?"

"Both, if we can," Squall said. "But if we can only get one, I really don't know."

"Attention, ladies and gentlemen. This is your co-pilot speaking," Zell said, over the speakers. "We will be arriving in Bevelle in approximately four hours. The time will be… morning? Morning, Bevelle-time. Thank you for choosing Ragnarok Air and enjoy the rest of your flight."

"Four hours to make up your mind, boss," Irvine said, leaning back in his seat.


	36. Chapter 36

Tidus and Paine approached the Southern entrance to the city of Bevelle, early in the morning. There was a large metal gate connected to an equally large concrete wall that surrounded the city, with a set of stairs on either side of the gate. Atop the wall were four guards waiting for Tidus and Paine. The guards' standard armor was similar to the armor Brackus wore; blue, with silver helmets, and white capes. From the other side of the gate, a loud banging could be heard.

"What's the news?" Tidus asked as he and Paine reached the top of the wall. "And why are there only four of you here?"

"That's partly why we called you here, sir," said one of the guards. "A few of our ranks have not appeared for their duties. There are similar reports from the East and North gates, as well as several city patrols."

"That doesn't sound good," Paine said. "What else do you have?"

"That banging on the other side of the wall," the guard continued. "There's a man taking shots at the gate. They're non-damaging, but he's ignoring our orders to stop."

Tidus and Paine looked over the side of the wall to see Seifer firing his gunblade into the gate.

"Knock, knock," Seifer called.

"Uh, hey, man!" Tidus called down. "Could you knock it off?"

"Do I have your attention?" Seifer said, resting his gunblade on his shoulder.

"He's that guy Yuna told us about yesterday," Paine said to Tidus. "What do you want?" she called down to Seifer.

"Not much," Seifer answered. "Just want to see the look on your faces when the fireworks start, which should right about…"

"What's he talking about?" Paine whispered.

As if on cue, an explosion could be heard nearby on the inside of the wall. Paine and Tidus turned to look, and saw a building down the street erupted in flames. In the distance, several more explosions could be seen and heard scattered throughout the city.

A moment later, a squad of Bevelle soldiers emerged from an alleyway. Their armor was painted red. They took aim with their rifles at the guards on the wall and fired. Two of them were hit and were blasted off the wall. Tidus, Paine, and the other two guards ducked down into cover.

"That explains where those missing guards are," Tidus said.

"You, there," Paine said to one of the remaining guards. "Get back to the spire, update Yuna or Lulu or anyone who's there to our situation. Make sure they use the City Sphere to relay the messages. We'll cover you."

The guard nodded. Tidus and Paine vaulted off the wall and engaged the red soldiers. Deflecting the gunfire with their swords, Paine and Tidus closed in on them and began slashing and cutting them down. The messenger guard ran down to the street level and began making his way back to the spire. The remaining guard joined Tidus and Paine on the ground.

Seifer slashed at the gate, cutting a large X in the metal. He then used a powerful fire spell and blew the gate open, sending large pieces of metal flying down the street. Paine and Tidus were both knocked to the ground by the shrapnel. The last Bevelle guard aimed his rifle at Seifer, but was too slow. Seifer charged him and stabbed him in the chest with his blade. Throwing the dead guard aside, Seifer looked down at Paine and Tidus, pinned under slabs of metal.

"Ah, that's the look I wanted to see," Seifer laughed. "Helplessness. It really brings a smile to my face."

Seifer then made his way toward the spire.

On the other side of the city, Yuna, Wakka, and Kimahri approached one of the explosion sites. The structure that was bombed had been completely destroyed and the two adjoining buildings were on fire. Screams and cries for help could be heard nearby. With a wave of her wand, Yuna cast a Nulblaze spell on herself and her guardians.

"Let's sweep these buildings for survivors," Yuna ordered.

"I'll take the far one," Wakka called, running off toward one of the burning buildings.

Kimahri and Yuna ran through the front door of the closest house on fire. The spell protected them, but the heat was still intense. A quick look around the first floor revealed that it was empty. Some loud bumping noise could be heard from the floor above, so the two ran up the stairs to investigate.

The upper level was comprised of a hallway and three rooms. Kimahri and Yuna split up to search the two closest rooms. They were both small bedrooms. Quickly scanning them, they both concluded that no one was trapped in them. Together, they searched the one remaining room. It was a larger bedroom with a window in front where smoke billowed out. Yuna heard the bumping again, coming from a nearby closet. She opened the doors to find a Bomb, pulsating with energy.

Kimahri grabbed Yuna, covering her with his body and ran towards the window. The Bomb exploded, blasting the roof off the building and sent Yuna and Kimahri out the window, slamming against the building across the street. Still clutching Yuna in his hands, Kimahri landed on the ground, releasing her. They looked up to see Wakka exiting his building carrying a young woman to safety.

"Brother," Yuna said, activating her earpiece. "Are you there?"

"Yuna! Are you hurt? What is happening?" Brother asked in a panic.

"I'm alright," Yuna answered. "I need you and Buddy in the air. Give me an update from above."

"Roger," answered Brother. "One minute."

Just then, several guards ran up to Yuna.

"Lady Yuna," one of them said, out of breath. "We have received reports that each city gate has been ambushed by deserters from our own army. On our way here, our patrol unit encountered several monsters. We don't have the numbers to fight off the monsters _and_ the deserters."

"Yuna, this is Buddy," Yuna could hear from her earpiece. "We're above the city. The streets are a battlefield."

"Can you see how many places have been bombed?" asked Yuna.

"Judging by the number of fires," Buddy said. "At least nine. What do you want us to do?"

"Find a place to land and start evacuating the people," Yuna said. "Can you make contact with Shinra and Lulu?"

"No, we still can't transmit or receive signals from the spire," Buddy answered. "But we'll send up flares once we've landed."

"Good," Yuna said, turning her attention back to the guards. "I need you guys to do something: One of you return to the spire, and tell my guardians we need all hands on deck out here and that we're evacuating the city. The rest of you, escort any citizens you find to the Celsius and help them board. If you run into any other guards, spread the word."

The guards ran off. Overhead, the Celsius could be seen flying toward and landing in a clearing between the buildings. Bright red flares could be shooting upward from the landing site. Yuna and Wakka waved over some nearby citizens and began leading them toward the Celsius.

Back inside the spire, Lulu, Rikku, and Shinra sat around a small table in Yuna's office, discussing their findings from the books they had been analyzing. Rikku sat with her elbows on the table, holding her head up to stop herself from falling asleep.

"It's not unheard of for a Fayth to be missing," Lulu said. "The Aeon Yojimbo's Fayth had been stolen and relocated in Spira. Maybe the Aeon for this city is in a similar situation."

"That may be the case," Shinra said. "But we can't confirm it until we either find the Fayth or its original location. I have a different theory: the Aeon is underground. Specifically, underneath this building. The mystery surrounding the spire's origin and construction is evidence to some sort of secret here. My money is on it being here, but it would take an excavation of incredible scale to uncover it, not to mention it may seriously compromise the structural integrity of the spire. What do you think, Rikku?"

"I think this Aeon…" Rikku yawned. "Has been blessed with being absent from this conversation. Wherever it is, I would give anything to be there, right now."

The door to the elevator behind them opened. Four guards entered and approached the table.

"We have reports from Lady Yuna and the generals," one of the guards said. "The city has been attacked, both by monsters and rogue soldiers. An order has been issued to evacuate the city."

"Bevelle's being attacked?!" squeaked Rikku. "Big yikes!"

"Looks like we'll have to kiss all the City Sphere data goodbye," Shinra sighed.

"It is also requested that the order is relayed via the City Sphere," the guard added.

"Rikku, can you handle that?" asked Lulu. "We'll gather up these books and wait for you on the bottom floor."

"Leave it to Rikku!" Rikku answered, giving a thumbs up.

Opening the double doors to the next room, Rikku approached the City Sphere. She popped her knuckles and stretched her fingers before interfacing with the table.

"Alright. Press this button… and this one with the sword and shield… flip this thingy… and done?" Rikku whispered to herself. "Okay, now how do I close this?"

Rikku began swiping and dragging icons on the table, not knowing what they do. As she became frustrated, her movements became more frantic. Eventually, the three dimensional model of the city collapsed into a flat image. Rikku looked at the map and tilted her head slightly. Suddenly, her eyes widened. The flat image of the spire looked exactly like a Fayth.

"Now _that's_ a big yikes," Rikku whispered. "That's a HUGE yikes!"

Rikku ran out of the room, to the elevator to regroup with Lulu and Shinra. After she left, a portal began to form next to the City Sphere. When the portal stabilized, Seymour emerged. Smiling, he approached the City Sphere and began interfacing with it. He cleared the command Rikku had just input and replaced it with his own.

"The bait has been placed," Seymour chuckled. "Now to spring the trap."


	37. Chapter 37

After freeing themselves from under the broken pieces of the gate, Tidus and Paine ran off in the direction Seifer went, in hopes of catching him. Turning a street corner, they found half a dozen Bevelle soldiers and a group of civilians pinned down between a pack of Lupine and a squad of red soldiers.

With a glowing red energy forming in his hand, Tidus cast a Haste spell on himself and Paine. Together, they rushed in to aid the cornered soldiers. From behind the Lupine, Paine dealt fatal slashes to the fiends. Tidus rushed past Paine, vaulting over the Bevelle guards, and striking the ground with his sword, blasting the rogue soldiers into the air. Before they could hit the ground, Tidus leapt up, attacking the circle of soldiers around him.

Tidus landed, with the red soldiers landing in a heap beside him. He and Paine approached the soldiers they saved, some of which were injured.

"Generals!" one of the guards exclaimed. "You saved us!"

"You bet!" Tidus said, patting him on the shoulder. "I told you, you can always count on us."

"We have orders directly from Lady Yuna," another soldier said. "We're to escort the citizens to the airship for evacuation."

Suddenly, a device on each of the soldiers' belts began to blink a red light. They appeared to be a receiver of some sort. Each of the guards checked their device for a moment.

"What are those?" Paine asked.

"These are how we get orders from the City Sphere, ma'am," one of the guards said. "Standard issue."

"What do they say?" asked Tidus.

"It's a red alert," the first guard answered. "All military personnel are to secure the spire, immediately."

"We should get going then," Paine said, turning to Tidus. "That's where Seifer was heading, too, wasn't it?

"I'll go," Tidus answered. "Some of these soldiers will need help getting these people to the Celsius," he said, pointing toward the red flares in the sky. "Come back me up once you've done that."

Paine nodded, reluctantly. She helped a couple of soldiers to their feet, and together they made their way to the Celsius. Tidus took the battle-ready soldiers toward the spire.

Yuna, Kimahri, and Wakka were helping the people of Bevelle board the airship. Activating her gunner dressphere, Yuna and her guardians created a perimeter around the Celsius to allow safe boarding for the evacuees.

"Yuna, I don't think the Celsius is big enough to hold the entire city, ya know?" Wakka said. "What are we going to do about the rest of the people?

"We'll have to make two trips, I guess," Yuna sighed. "That's the best plan I have, right now. We'll have to keep the second group of people safe until Brother and Buddy come back."

"You guys up for it?" Wakka asked Yuna and Kimahri.

"No choice," Kimahri said.

"Yuna, we're picking up a signal you should hear," Buddy said over the radio.

"Is it from the spire?" Yuna asked.

"No, I think it's from… another airship?" Buddy said. "I'll patch you through."

"Hello? Hello?" Selphie said. "How's everybody feeling tonight in Bevelle? Having a good time?"

"Selphie?" Yuna asked. "Is that you?"

"Heeeeeeey, guys!" Selphie answered, as the Ragnarok soared overhead. "Gotta say, I'm not a huge fan of what you've done with the place, what with all the fire and whatnot."

"Yeah, we're in a bind, you guys," Yuna said. "Mind lending a hand… or twelve?"

"You bet," Selphie said. "How can we help?"

"We need to get the rest of these people out of the city," Yuna answered. "Got any room on that thing?"

"Some of them might need to squeeze in, but we should be able to take them," Selphie said, landing the Ragnarok down the street from the Celsius.

As the hanger doors opened and the ramp to the loading bay extended, Squall, Quistis, Irvine, and Rinoa all walked out onto the street. The crowd of people around the Celsius began to split and make their way over to the Ragnarok. The four SeeDs approached Yuna, Wakka, and Kimahri.

"What's going on here?" asked Squall.

"I'm not completely sure, to be honest," Yuna said. "The city's been bombed in several places, fiends have appeared in the streets, and we're under fire from rogue soldiers. I'm just trying to get everyone to safety."

"Alright. We'll take the rest of the people on our ship," Squall said. "After that, you and I need to talk. There's some pretty concerning news regarding this place."

Just then, Paine arrived with the people she was escorting.

"Paine!" Yuna gasped. "Are you alright? Where's Tidus?"

"I'm good," Paine panted. "Your boyfriend went back to the spire to secure it. And I think I know who's behind this whole thing. That guy that you saw yesterday, Seifer. He went ahead to the spire after the bombings."

"Seifer's here?" Squall asked.

"You guys know each other?" asked Yuna.

"He's an asshole," Squall answered.

He and the other SeeDs looked at each other, and then towards the Ragnarok. Their eyes met with Cloud's, who was standing just inside the loading bay of the airship. Cloud nodded at them and then headed back inside.

"What's he doing with you guys?" asked Yuna.

"What, are we all buddies now?" Paine asked.

"We have similar goals," Squall said, turning to the other SeeDs. "I need you three to help Yuna get these people out of here. Cloud and I will find you when we're done."

"Where are you guys going?" asked Wakka.

"That's classified," Squall answered as Cloud burst from the Ragnarok's hanger, riding Fenrir.

Cloud pulled up next to the SeeDs. He looked at Yuna and her guardians and nodded. Squall got on the back of Cloud's motorcycle.

"Awwww. You two look so cute on that motorcycle," Rinoa said.

Cloud and Squall scoffed.

"Alright, you boys have fun, now," Quistis teased.

"Just go," Squall said. "They won't stop."

Cloud revved his engine and they took off towards the spire.

"We'll be able to go soon," Yuna said. "Once your ship is loaded up, we'll take off."

"No, you guys take off first," Quistis said. "You're already full. We'll take the rest and any stragglers."

Yuna looked off toward the spire with worry. Wakka took her by the arm and guided her onto the Celsius. Soon after, the Celsius took off, beginning its ascent.

Meanwhile, at the town square in front of the spire, all the remaining Bevelle forces had engaged the deserters in all out combat. On both sides, swords, axes, hammers, spears, and rifles crowded the battlefield. As soon as Tidus arrived, the Bevelle army took notice. They soon rallied to his side and formed a defensive line. Standing opposite to Tidus and his army, the red soldiers formed their own line. From the middle of the rogue army, Brackus emerged. His armor was painted red to match the others'.

"I told you I would retake this city," Brackus called out.

"You haven't taken anything," Tidus answered. "What you have done, is attack innocent civilians and bombed their homes. Do you think you're on the right side of things?"

"I am commanding an army for someone much mightier than you or I," Brackus said. "I am on the side of power, so when this is over, I will be right."

With a look of concentration, Tidus began to walk out toward the red army. Watching him, the Bevelle soldiers advanced, following suit. Soon their walk sped into a jog, eventually into a full on charge. Brackus grinned, signaling his forces to advance and meet them head on.

Tidus focused his energy into his blade. As the two armies clashed, he leapt up and swung his sword, unleashing a barrage of beams upon the red soldiers. As they made contact, the beams exploded with energy, creating a clearing in the swarm of rogue soldiers. Tidus landed and looked past the opposing forces. His eyes met with Brackus', who began making his way to the spire, escorted by two guards. Tidus began cutting himself a path through the waves of red armor. When he finally made it to the other side of the battle, Tidus could see that Brackus was almost to the spire.

Tidus ran as fast as he could to catch up. As Tidus approached, Brackus ordered his two guards to slow him down. They were both heavily armored; one wielded a battleaxe and the other used a hammer.

The hammer came swinging across, as Tidus slid under it. He turned and slashed the hammer soldier in the back, scratching the armor. Over his shoulder, Tidus could see the axe soldier about to bring his weapon down on him. Tidus used his sword, deflecting the axe into the ground, then he shoulder charged the guard. Not even phased, the guard swatted Tidus away with his arm, knocking him to the ground.

The two heavy soldiers stepped on each of Tidus' arms, pinning him down. The axe wielder lined up a strike by bringing the blade close to Tidus' neck. As the battleaxe was raised for a strike, the soldier was struck under his arm with a spear, causing him to drop his weapon. The two guards turned to see a handful of Bevelle soldiers approaching to back Tidus up.

The red soldier with the axe pulled the spear out of his side, and picked up his weapon. The two heavy guards turned their focus to the advancing Bevelle soldiers. Tidus stood up to attack, but was interrupted by one of his own soldiers.

"General," the soldier said. "We can handle the fight out here. You secure the spire, sir."

"Are you sure about this?" Tidus asked.

"Of course, sir!" she said. "You can count on us, too."

Tidus nodded and continued to chase Brackus. The two met at the front door of the spire.

"Nowhere to run, Brackus," Tidus said. "Give it up."

Brackus drew a pistol and began firing at Tidus. Using his buckler, Tidus shielded himself from the incoming shots and charged at Brackus. He tackled him, busting the doors to the spire open. Tidus shoved Brackus onto the ground, pushing him into the main hall of the tower. Brackus stood up and stumbled backward down the center aisle of the room. As Tidus closed in on Brackus, he was greeted by a familiar voice.

"Hey, you made it, buddy!" Seifer said, sitting with his legs hanging off the stage.

Sephiroth stood behind him, by the podium.

"Hey, I know you," Tidus said. "You were in Baaj that day the Aeon escaped. Man, I thought you were cool. Are you the guy behind this attack?"

"I wouldn't call it an attack," Seymour said, as he stepped out from behind the stage. "It's more like a diversion."

Seymour stood in front of the stage, joining Seifer and Sephiroth.

"Maester Seymour!" Brackus cheered, running up to him. "Everything is going according to plan, sir. We have him right where we want him."

"Indeed," Seymour said. "Your job is done, now."

Seymour grabbed Brackus by the throat, lifting him off the ground. Brackus began choking and squirming to free himself. He looked at Seymour, and then at Seifer and Sephiroth. Seifer threw his hands up in a shrug. A loud snap could be heard, and Brackus stopped struggling.

"Seymour!" Tidus yelled. "You monster! You're going to pay for all this!"

"Please. If we fought now, you wouldn't see why you were brought here," Seymour said, dropping Brackus on the floor.

"How about I just beat it out of you?!" Tidus growled.

Tidus charged down the aisle, between the pews. He jumped to strike Seymour, but Seifer fired his gunblade, blasting him out of the air. As Tidus struggled to pick himself up, he could hear a loud engine in the distance.

Everyone in the room turned their attention to the door, as the sound of the engine accompanied by squealing tires grew closer. Moments later, Cloud and Squall rode in on Fenrir. They skidded down the middle of the room, stopping between Tidus and Seymour.

"Squall?" Tidus said, looking at the two. "Hey, man. Nice bike."

Squall and Cloud hopped off the bike. Tidus stood up and joined them.

"This is a genuine surprise, Cloud," Sephiroth said. "I never thought you would make it here."

"Come on. You're going after the 'heart' of this place," Cloud said. "You really couldn't help yourself, could you?"

"I suppose not," Sephiroth chuckled. "I'm glad you're here though. You get to see the fruits of my labor up close. And you brought Seifer's old friend."

"Yeah, we should really thank you," Seifer said. "This is turning out _way_ better than we expected. Now we're just waiting for a few more friends…"

"He's in there! The general is in the spire!" said a soldier from outside the tower. "Let's get in there and back him up!"

Soon the room was flooded with Bevelle guards. They took up positions in the center and side aisles, in the pews, and in cover behind the stone pillars.

"This room where we're all standing," Seymour said. "Is very special. This whole building is special; a mechanical marvel. It holds the greatest secret in the land."

"Stop stalling," Tidus said. "Just get over here and die."

"You're cornered," Squall said. "You've got nowhere to go and you're outnumbered."

"You've actually got that backwards, Squall," Seifer grinned.

Sephiroth drew his sword and began levitating. He started slashing toward the stone pillars in the room, cracking them.

"What are you doing, Sephiroth?" Cloud shouted. "We need to stop him!"

Cloud jumped up to intercept Sephiroth, but was struck by a lightning bolt cast from Seymour's hands. Cloud dropped to the ground.

"Squall! Come on!" Cloud shouted.

Ignoring Cloud, Squall charged at Seifer, who jumped off the stage to meet him. Their gunblades clashed as they fought. Not knowing that his back was to Seymour, Squall slashed at Seifer, who evaded each strike. Seymour blasted Squall in the back with a fire spell, sending him stumbling forward. Seifer then blasted him with a shot from his gunblade, laying him flat on his back.

Sephiroth turned his attention to Cloud, bringing his sword down to meet Cloud's. The impact forced the surrounding pews and guards to fly in every direction. Sephiroth grabbed Cloud by the collar and threw him into Tidus, knocking them both to the floor.

The guards began firing their rifles and swinging their weapons at Sephiroth, who was unaffected by their attacks. In retaliation, he swung his sword, cleaving through a dozen soldiers at a time. Taking a break from the carnage, Sephiroth went back to weakening the supports in the room.

"What's he doing?" asked Tidus, standing up.

"It looks like…" Cloud said. "He's trying to bring the building down on our heads!"

As the last stone pillar came crashing down, a massive slab of stone slid down by the door, covering the exit. Another covered the window behind the stage. This was followed by a loud rumbling and the spire began shaking violently. The ceiling slowly started to descend. From the outside, each tier of the spire began to flatten, collapsing into each other. As the chaos inside the main hall of the spire ensued, Sephiroth, Seymour, and Seifer grouped up together. Seymour began conjuring a portal behind the three of them.

"Like I said," Seymour said, looking around the room. "A mechanical marvel."

The three villains disappeared and the portal with them. The room became smaller and smaller, until the stage, the pews, even the candles began to be crushed. Tidus watched as the lights became extinguished, and his hope with them.


	38. Chapter 38

Rikku, Lulu, and Shinra ran through the deserted streets of Bevelle. They passed a dozen burning and demolished buildings as they made their way toward the Celsius.

"So what you're saying is the spire _is_ the Fayth?" Lulu asked.

"I think so," Rikku said. "When I flattened the city map, the spire looked just like one."

"That actually may explain why no signals could penetrate the walls," Shinra huffed, as he trailed behind Rikku and Lulu. "The Fayth statues are made of materials we can't synthesize. Their molecular structure is a complete unknown."

"Well, my question is: is there something we can do with it?" Rikku said. "Can Yunie use it to summon the Aeon?"

"That's doubtful," Lulu answered, looking over her shoulder at the spire. "The way it is right now, it's nothing more than a fancy-looking building."

Suddenly, a thundering boom echoed out from the spire. The three turned around to look. Slowly, the upper level of the spire began to sink, followed by the next, and the next. A cloud of dust started to form at the base of the tower and push outward, approaching Lulu, Rikku, and Shinra. A rush of wind blew past them, with the dust cloud not far behind. They quickly turned around again and ran, to escape being swallowed up.

As the last people boarded the Ragnarok, Paine, Quistis, and Kimahri stood at the bottom of the loading bay ramp, scanning their surroundings for survivors. They heard the rumbling coming from the spire and turned to face it. Dust rose on the horizon.

"That looks bad," Paine said.

"Yeah, kind of like our cue to get out of here," Quistis agreed.

Quistis walked up the ship's ramp to begin raising it for takeoff. As the ramp's hydraulics began to hiss, shooting out steam, Paine and Kimahri heard faint screams. They squinted their eyes to see Lulu, Rikku, and Shinra running as fast as they could toward the Ragnarok.

"Hold up! Don't raise the ramp!" Paine called.

"It's already started!" Quistis called back. "I can't stop it!"

"Great," whispered Paine. "Hurry up, you guys."

The ramp slowly began to rise as the three got closer. Rikku got there first, stepping up onto the ramp a few inches off the ground. The other two, still carrying their books from the spire, trailed behind. Lulu jumped onto the ramp, now a foot high, sliding to safety and dropping her books in a pile inside the ship. As the ramp rose even higher, Shinra threw his books onboard in a desperate attempt to speed up.

"Are you kidding me?!" Paine yelled.

"Save the books!" Shinra panted.

Soon, the ramp rose to the point where they could no longer see Shinra. A moment after, Shinra's little hands poked up over the top of the ramp. He lifted himself up, and Paine and Rikku pulled him over the top. As he slid down into the ship, the ramp finally shut all the way.

The dust cloud engulfed the Ragnarok. From the inside, tiny pieces of stone could be heard bouncing off the hull of the ship. Selphie engaged the thrusters and they took off, blasting out of the dust, joining the Celsius high above what was once Bevelle.

"You couldn't have left the books behind?" Paine panted.

"These are worth more to us than you know," Shinra said, picking them back up. "With what just happened, with everything that's about to come to light, we're going to need these books, I just know it. Where's Yuna?"

"On the Celsius," Quistis answered.

"We need to talk to her right now," Lulu said.

"Alright," Quistis said. "I'll bring you up to the bridge."

Quistis, Rikku, Lulu, Shinra, and Paine made their way through the crowds of people packed onto the Ragnarok. Together, they took the elevator up to the bridge and entered. The rest of the SeeDs were already gathered there.

"Here," Quistis said. "The communications console is-"

Shinra pushed past Quistis and began pushing buttons and turning the dials on the console.

"Hey, kid!" Zell said. "You can't just start pushing buttons on this ship!"

"Celsius? Celsius!" Shinra said into the panel's microphone, ignoring Zell. "This is Shinra. I have an urgent message for Yuna."

"Shinra? What's going on down there?" Yuna asked over the radio. "What's happening?"

"Well, honestly, it's a lot to explain at once," Shinra said.

"Basically, the missing Fayth in the city _is_ the spire," Rikku interrupted. "It's the reason we couldn't send any signals in or out of it. And now, the tower is collapsing in on itself, and we don't really know why."

"Does Tidus know?" asked Yuna. "Where is he?"

Rikku opened her mouth to speak, but had no answer. Nobody answered. A somber silence fell over the bridge.

"Rikku, where's Tidus?" she asked again.

"He went to the spire to secure it," Paine said. "Rikku, Lulu, and Shinra were the last to board."

"That's where Squall went, too," Rinoa gasped, putting her hands over her mouth, fighting back sobs.

On the Celsius, Yuna leapt from the cockpit onto the glass of the windshield, and looked down on the city. She watched as the final pieces of the spire fell into place. As the tower locked into its final position, it kicked up dust even higher than before, covering the entire city; nothing was left visible.

"We have to go back down!" Yuna yelled.

"We're barely flying steady as it is," Buddy said. "And we wouldn't be able to see or breathe down there. I'm sorry, we just can't."

"Yuna, we saved everyone we could, and you have a duty to them," Lulu said. "I'm sorry to say, you can't throw that away so rashly."

"So, where are we taking these people?" asked Selphie.

"According to the map in this book," Shinra said, flipping through the pages of 'Temples and Aeons'. "The nearest settlement or city is… a place called Nibelheim, East of here."

"Sounds like a good a plan as any," Selphie said, maneuvering the ship.

Yuna looked up at Brother with tears in her eyes, shaking her head.

"Please," Yuna said. "We can't leave him here."

"Yuna…" Brother said softly. "I am sorry. There is nothing we can do."

The Ragnarok took off, headed East, with the Celsius following close behind.


	39. Chapter 39

With a crushing pain on his chest and back, Squall opened his eyes. He had no idea where he was. It was cold and dark. He could see his breath in front of him. Squall groaned as he sat up. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see outlines of people.

Cloud stood very still, leaning against his motorcycle. His arms were crossed, as if to shut himself off from everything around him. Beyond Cloud, Tidus sat on the ground with his legs crossed. His back was turned to Cloud and Squall. All around them were bodies of fallen Bevelle soldiers. Dozens of firearms and blades scattered about. Squall let out a sigh as he looked around.

"Oh, look. He lives," Cloud said, sarcastically.

Tidus peeked over his shoulder at Squall, then turned away again.

"Where are we?" Squall asked.

"Bevelle," Tidus said. "A few hundred feet below it, anyway. Those three brought the tower down on top of us."

"No," Cloud said, glaring at Squall. " _One_ of them brought the tower down on top of us. The one we _should_ have focused on."

"Hey, Sephiroth was _your_ guy," Squall said. "Don't pin this on me."

" _My_ guy?" Cloud said, stepping toward Squall. "Why exactly do you think I needed you to go after him with me? You think it was just to settle a score?"

"Actually, it was 'cause you were left behind by your girlfriend, barely able to move," Squall said. "Where are you at with that, by the way?"

Cloud stopped in his tracks, realizing he was still not in fighting condition and that a fight would not solve his current situation. He turned away from Squall and saw that Tidus had stood up. Tidus was picking up some of the swords, spears, and axes formally held by the Bevelle guards. He began sticking them into the ground as part of a collective memorial.

Recognizing Tidus' behavior, Cloud joined him by thrusting a nearby broadsword into the ground amongst the ones Tidus had set. They stood there in front of the memorial in silence for a few moments.

"I'm sorry," Cloud finally said. "They died upholding their duty. To protect their city. I wish we could have at least saved it for them."

"Thanks," Tidus said. He pointed at the sword Cloud contributed. "Have you lost people?"

"Yeah," Cloud said, remembering Zack. "Friends."

"This should never have happened," Tidus said, looking around at all the bodies.

"This is what follows Sephiroth," Cloud said. "Everywhere he goes."

"They knew the risks," Squall said, standing up. "They woke up every day knowing the cost of protecting their city. Honor them by honoring their choices."

The three of them stood in silence for a few moments. That is, until Tidus perked up. He turned to Squall and Cloud with an inquisitive look on his face.

"What were you two doing here in Bevelle?" Tidus asked.

"We came here to stop Sephiroth," Cloud said.

"Seifer and Seymour, too," Squall joined in.

"So, what, you knew they'd be here?" Tidus continued. "Did you know this would happen?"

"We had a hunch," Squall said. "We started following them after we found out they were the ones attacking the temples and setting the Aeons loose."

"You mean after you tried to take one," Cloud scoffed.

"That's beside the point," Squall said.

"Is it?" Tidus asked, stepping forward. "Last time I checked, all the temples and cities being attacked were because their Aeons were being set loose."

"Look, we only wanted the GF to defend ourselves," Squall said. "In case we had to-"

"In case you had to what?" Cloud interrupted. "In case you had to stop me from killing the Aeon? In case you had to kill me?"

"In case we had to kill you," Squall said, pointing to Tidus. "We got played by Seymour. He tricked us into fighting you and your friends. You nearly beat us, too. Seymour was afraid of Yuna's power. If he got the Aeon, he could crush us all. And if she got it, we'd be powerless to stop her from killing us all, too."

"You were going to kill Yuna?" Tidus said softly. "Even after we cleared up this whole assassination business, you were going to kill her?!"

"Guys, focus," Cloud said, stepping between them. "The situation's changed."

"Oh yeah, it sure has changed!" Tidus yelled. "When _we_ met, I offered to help you guys go after the Aeons! You brushed me off a piece of dirt! How many more people had to die before you decided you needed help?!"

"Hey, I don't want help from some hot-headed punk or his band of merry little dreamers," Cloud said. "In my experience, if you go after the monster, you might not come back alive! I don't need more blood on my hands because of someone's recklessness!"

"See, this is exactly why I have to be ready to take you down," Squall said. "One minute you're trying to be friends, the next you're at each other's throats. People like you are the reason I don't trust strangers."

"Stop fighting, you boys!"

Tidus, Cloud, and Squall stopped and looked around for the voice they heard. It was squeaky, like a young child's voice. They turned toward the collection of swords and spears and saw a little girl. She had silver hair, pale skin, and a light pink dress. The girl also held a doll with white clothes and pink hair.

"Stop fighting, right now!" the girl said, pointing at them.

"Uh, hey there," Tidus said. "Are you alright? Were you hurt at all in the… in the big crash?"

"Ha ha, nope," the girl giggled.

"Where did you come from?" asked Squall. "Were you down here with us this whole time?"

"Um… Kind of," the little girl answered.

"That's a nice doll you have there," Tidus said, kneeling next to her. "She's very pretty."

"She's not pretty," the girl said, frowning. "Her name is Claire and she's really strong."

"Oh, uh, I believe you," Tidus said. "What's _your_ name?"

"Um…" she paused. "I can't tell you."

"Don't worry," Tidus said. "It's okay. My name's Ti-"

"Tidus," the girl interrupted. "And you're Squall, and you're Cloud."

The three men froze upon hearing her.

"How did you know that?" Cloud asked, stepping toward her.

"Because I named you," the little girl said.

"What? No," Cloud said. "How do you know our names? What are you doing here?"

"Cloud, come on. Don't scare her," Tidus said.

"I'm not scared," the girl said. " _You're_ scared. That's why I'm here."

"Who are you?" interrogated Cloud.

"Let me guess," Squall said. "You can't tell us?"

"I can't tell you because I don't really have a name," she said. "I made you. I made all of you. I'm the reason you're all here. And all your friends."

"That's not true," said Squall in disbelief. "I'm standing here because of the choices I made. No one brought me here."

"What about when you first came to Bevelle?" the girl teased. "Did you fly here in your spaceship? No. You were all plucked from your own little worlds and brought here, to me."

"'Here'? What is 'here'?" asked Cloud.

"Well, that's kind of hard to explain," the girl said. "Have you ever heard of time presshing? When everything happens at once?"

"Wait, do you mean time compression?" Squall asked.

"Yes! That's it!" the girl said, clapping her hands together. "I took your different times and I pushed them all together. Now, I have this! 'Here'. This place is something I made."

"I don't follow," Tidus said. "Is any of this making sense to anyone else?"

"Time compression," Squall said. "It's when everything that exists in the past, present, and future exists at one time. I have a bit of experience with it. From what I can tell, none of us are supposed to exist at the same time."

"Exactly!" the little girl said, walking over to Squall. "You always were really smart! I took pieces from all your times and put them together here."

"Is that why there's a Bevelle and a Baaj?" Tidus asked. "And Aeons like the ones in Spira?"

"So, there are things in this place that we all recognize?" Cloud said.

"Mmm-hmm!" she nodded.

"Well, I for one am getting kind of tired of this whole nameless creator-thing, if that's what you really are," Squall said. "What do we call you?"

"That's a good question!" the girl said, looking at her doll. "In a way… I kind of am the planet, and the planet is me…"

"Gaia?" Cloud suggested.

"Hmmm, no. Maybe Terra?" she said. "No, that's taken. What do you think, Claire?"

The girl held her doll up to her ear and made whispering sounds between them.

"Ooh! That's a good one, Claire!" she whispered. "Ahem. You can call me Erda."

"I've got another question," Cloud said, approaching Erda. He picked her up by the collar and held her face to face with him. "Why are we here?!"

"Cloud, let her go!" Tidus yelled. "Are you crazy? She's a kid!"

"No, she's not!" Cloud yelled. "You may look like a little girl, but you're something else, aren't you?"

"You're always so serious, Cloud," Erda laughed, patting his face. "You won't hurt me. You can't, and I think you know that."

Cloud put her back down on the ground. "Why are we here?" he asked.

"Well, this is a bit embarrassing," Erda said. "I need you so I can win."

"To win?" Squall asked. "You mean so we can beat Sephiroth?"

"Yes. Well, no," she answered. "You see, I'm the reason you're here. My brother is the reason Sephiroth, Seifer, and Seymour are here. And I need you to beat them so that I can win."

"So, all this is just for a game?!" Tidus asked. "You're sick."

"But I thought you liked games," Erda teased.

"I don't believe this," said Cloud. "We are not playing your game!"

"If you don't play, then I lose," Erda whined. "And then you lose."

"We've been fighting for your entertainment?" Squall said. "People have died because of this. Or did you just make them up? Are the people who have died even real? Is anything here even real?"

"Only as real as you are," she said. "If you want to call that 'real'. Anyway, so I'm going to need you to pull it together and beat those three. Okay?"

"Why should we listen to you?" Cloud said.

"Hey! I'm helping you!" Erda said. "You guys are losing, I'm trying to help, and you're just being mean!"

"This is what help looks like?" Tidus scoffed.

"Oh, come on, Tidus," Erda said, softly. "Don't cry."

"What did you say?" barked Tidus, stepping toward her.

"Hold up," Cloud said, blocking Tidus. "What makes you say we're losing?"

"Well, we _are_ buried alive," Squall said.

"But winning and losing. There must be an end to this; an outcome," Cloud said. "Why are they winning?"

"Because you don't play nice. You don't work together," Erda explained. "Look at Seymour, Seifer, and Sephiroth. They're working together and they've done a lot! Look how much they did! They're kicking your butts!"

Tidus, Cloud, and Squall looked at each other. Reflecting on the past few days since they met, they could see Erda's point.

"Great pep talk," Tidus said. "You like our coach?"

"Well, there are a couple of rules to my game," Erda said. "My brother and I are allowed to talk to you once. He chose to talk to his guys right at the start and I chose to talk to you when you needed me most. Honestly, I think he chose the better time."

"So, we're a lost cause," Cloud said.

"No no no," Erda said. "I'm going to tell you what to do! And more importantly, I'm going to tell you what _they're_ going to do."

"I thought their plan was to crush Bevelle," Squall said. "I guess there's more to it than that."

"Right. Sephiroth wouldn't stop after just one city," Cloud agreed.

"Does this have something to do with the Aeons?" Tidus asked.

"It does," Erda nodded. "The Aeons had to be taken in a very specific order. Red XIII figured that part out. Tell him he's a good boy for me! After that, the final Fayth could be unlocked. That's why they knocked down the tower; it's the last Fayth."

"Did they need us underneath to do it?" Tidus asked.

"Probably not," said Squall. "They just couldn't pass up the opportunity to humiliate us."

"So, what comes next?" Cloud asked.

"The Reaping," Erda answered. "When you defeated Sephiroth and Seymour in your own times, you stopped them from wiping everyone out. This is their second chance. With the Aeons in their control, they have the power to destroy everything in one swift move."

"They're going to unleash them all at once," Squall said.

"Yup," Erda said. "Each Aeon is going to return to their temple and wreak havoc on the cities. They will destroy everything unless you stop them."

"Great. So we stop them, save the world, game over?" Tidus asked.

"The Aeons are just one means to their end," Cloud said. "Even if we defeat the Aeons, there's still Sephiroth, and he's no less dangerous."

"The game doesn't end until everyone on one team is gone," Erda said.

"Speaking of everyone else, what happened to everyone else in Bevelle?" asked Tidus. "Did Yuna and the rest get away?"

"Yes," Erda said. "The guardians and the SeeDs got on their ships and flew East. To Nibelheim, I think."

"We're going to need to regroup," Squall said. "All of us."

"That's the spirit!" Erda said. "You boys going to play nicely together now?"

"I don't see any other choice," Cloud said, looking at Tidus and Squall. "But getting new allies isn't the worst thing to happen to me today."

"Alright!" cheered Tidus. "You finally ready to team up?"

Tidus stuck his hand out between him, Cloud, and Squall. Cloud shook his head and smiled, putting his hand on Tidus'. Squall rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," Squall said as he put his hand on Cloud's.

"Yeah!" Erda cheered, putting her hand on top of everyone else's. "Now you've got it! You guys are going to make me so proud!"

Everyone pulled their hands back.

"After this is all done," Cloud asked. "What happens to us? Do we get to go home?"

"Sure, if you win," Erda said. "Okay? Now that we've got our gameplan settled, are you ready to get back to it?"

"Yeah. Let's go kick their butts," Tidus said.

"Alright then. This is the one time I'll see you before the end," Erda reminded them. "So, I'll talk to you once you've beaten my brother's team."

"But if we lose?" Squall asked.

"Then goodbye forever!" Erda waved.

With that, the blinding white void that first took them surrounded them and Erda faded into white. When the void dissipated, Cloud, Tidus, and Squall stood outside the now destroyed walls of Bevelle. Most of the dust had settled, but the center of the city was still out of sight. It was nighttime, and the Celsius and Ragnarok were nowhere to be found. Looking around, Cloud spotted his motorcycle. He walked over to it and patted it with reassurance.

"I don't think we're all going to fit on that," Tidus said.

"And I don't think we'll have to," Squall said, looking to the sky.

High above them and off in the distance, the Shera approached. A spotlight from the airship scanned the area. Tidus jumped up and down, waving his arms, and called out. Once the searchlight spotted the three, the Shera got closer and landed.

"I've never been so relieved to see an approaching warship," Squall said.

"What makes it a warship?" asked Tidus.

"Aside from the cannons and guns," Cloud said. "Tifa's probably going to kill me once we board."


	40. Chapter 40

After picking up Cloud, Tidus, and Squall, the Shera set course for Nibelheim, to join up with the guardians and the SeeDs. On the way, everyone onboard gathered on the bridge. The three trapped in the pit under Bevelle explained to everyone what they experienced, who Erda is, and what they need to do to stop Seymour, Sephiroth, and Seifer.

"So, I have a question," Yuffie said. "Why is Squall's group called SeeDs?"

"It's sort of a convoluted acronym," Squall answered. "That's just what the mercenaries from our Garden are called."

"SeeD? Garden? Oh, I get it. Ha ha. That's funny," Barret said.

"Yeah, are you guys hippies?" teased Tifa.

"Are you hippies?" asked Tidus.

"What? No," Squall said.

"Relax, you're in good company," Tifa said. "AVALANCHE was created to save the planet, too. We totally get it."

"We're not hippies," Squall said. "SeeD was created to fight a sorceress, from the future. I know it sounds crazy-"

"Whoa. Far out, man," Cid said, from behind the ship's steering wheel.

"Yeah," Tifa laughed. "By the way, Cid, how far out are we?"

"Uh, should get there by tomorrow? Probably?" Cid said.

"Hey, man!" Tidus called up to Cid. "Sorry for blowing you up that one time!"

"S'alright, kid," Cid answered.

Amid the discussions of the plan of action, Tifa noticed Cloud leave the bridge. They had not spoken directly since they left Bevelle. She chased after him into a corridor.

"Cloud. Hey," Tifa said.

Cloud stopped and turned around to face her. Tifa walked up to him with her hands crossed behind her.

"Listen, I'm sorry," they both said at the same time.

"No, Cloud. Me first," Tifa said. "What I did was wrong. I shouldn't have abandoned you in Balamb. And I certainly shouldn't have left you alone. I should have used my head and found a better way to deal with this situation. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too," Cloud said. "You told me to sit out the fight and I didn't listen. You laid it all out for me, but I just ignored you. I should have-"

"Hey," Tifa interrupted, grabbing Cloud's hands and putting them around her. "We both should have. What's important is what we do now."

Back on the bridge, Tidus made his rounds officially meeting everyone. He approached Squall, who stood out of the way on his own.

"Hey, Squall!" Tidus said, walking over.

Squall just turned to Tidus and stared at him.

"What? What is it?" Tidus asked.

"That's what I'm wondering," Squall said. " _You_ wanted to talk to _me,_ right?"

"Uh, I just wanted to see what's up?" Tidus said.

"Nothing," Squall answered.

"Oh. Okay, then," Tidus said. "You know, you just look like the kind of guy who has a lot on his mind, but doesn't really say much."

"Hmm," Squall replied.

"And who only communicates through grunts and looks," Tidus continued.

Squall nodded.

"You want to know what's on my mind?" Squall asked.

"Sure," said Tidus.

"Something Erda said," said Squall. "'Only as real as you are, if you want to call that real'. Who does she think she is? And what are we to her?"

"I know what you mean," Tidus agreed. "For someone we're supposed to fight for, she doesn't exactly inspire confidence."

"It's just what she said about us not being real," Squall said. "We're just so small to her. Like our lives don't matter; like they haven't mattered all this time."

"Listen, I know what you're going through," Tidus said. "No matter what she says, you're here because of you, not her. If you just stopped fighting right now, she could lose her stupid game. If she could control you and your fate, she wouldn't allow that, right?"

"Wow, that was really insightful," Squall said.

"And who cares if our lives don't matter to someone," Tidus continued. "Your life will never be anyone else's but your own. Take if from someone who wasn't real at some point."

"Thanks. You're right- What?" asked Squall.

"Huh? Oh, right," Tidus said. "I was a Fayth's dream for a while, and then the Fayth stopped dreaming and I didn't exist anymore. Then Yuna saved the world again and asked for me to be brought back… so, here I am. It all works out in the end. Anyway, I'm going to check out the rest of the ship."

Tidus walked off, leaving Squall with a confused look on his face.

"And I thought going back in time and seeing my younger self was weird," Squall said to himself.


	41. Chapter 41

"Let me do the talking," Rikku said.

Quistis, Lulu, Rikku, and Irvine stood outside the walls of Nibelheim. The city was built in the middle of an enormous lake and surrounded by wooden walls and metal gates. There was a stone bridge extending from the shore to the city gates that the four had crossed. Rikku knocked on the metal gate. After a moment, a guard poked his head over the top of the wall.

"What do you want?" shouted the man.

"We want to come in!" Rikku called back.

The man disappeared for a moment and quiet chattering could be heard. He returned to sight.

"Why?" he asked.

"We have a lot of people that need help," Rikku answered.

The man disappeared again. More voices were heard. He came back.

"Are you invading?" the man asked.

"No," Rikku said.

"I don't believe you!" the guard shouted, and he ducked down behind the wall again.

The voices once again spoke behind the wall. After it died down, Rikku banged on the gate again. The same guard reappeared.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Rikku threw her hands up in amazement. She then put her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice.

"We want! To come in!" she shouted. "We have people! Who need help!"

"Where are these people?" the guard asked.

"They're in our airships!" Rikku called. "Can we speak to a manager or something?"

"Wait there!" the man called back.

He disappeared over the wall again.

"You think we're going to get anywhere with this guy?" Rikku asked her group.

"Oh, no, I think you're doing great," Quistis said, with her arms crossed giving her the thumbs up.

After a few minutes, the metal gates began to creak open. Seven men appeared, standing in a line. They all had cloaks with earthy, brown colours. The three guards on each end of the line had plated armour with accents of wing-desgins and helmets with horns. Four of the guards had bows drawn and an arrow pointed at each of the visitors, two had their hands on swords, ready to draw.

The man in the center of the line was much older than the other men, though he was much more muscular and bigger than the rest. He had black-greying hair with a short, but full beard. He and the two guards with swords approached Rikku, Lulu, Quistis, and Irvine. The man stopped in front of Rikku, towering over her. He looked at her, and then the rest of her group, then back to Rikku.

"Who are you?" the man said in a very deep and gruff voice.

"Uh, hi! I'm Rikku," she said. "Nice to meet ya!"

"One of my guards tells me you bring many people with you," the man continued. "Where are they? Why have you brought them to Nibelheim?"

"We flew them here on our airships," Rikku answered.

"They are refugees from Bevelle," Lulu said, stepping up behind Rikku.

"Hmph. Bevelle," the man scoffed. "Bevelle is under the leadership of a child I hear. One Yuna. Where is she?"

"She's not exactly feeling up to this right now," Rikku said.

"She asks Nibelheim for help," the man said. "But she cannot ask herself. It's insulting."

"Hey! Who do you think you are, talking about Yunie like that!" Rikku said, pointing at him.

"I am Rúrik. The leader and protector of Nibelheim," the man declared. "And we will not help you. Leave now."

"Well, we're not leaving until you help us!" Rikku said.

"Will you help if you spoke to Yuna?" Irivine suggested.

"I will consider it," Rúrik said, crossing his arms. "Lead me to Lady Yuna."

Rúrik gestured to his guards. They sheathed their weapons and formed rank behind him. Rikku, Quistis, Lulu, and Irvine began leading Rúrik and his men on the long walk across the stone bridge to their airships.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Lulu asked Irvine.

"Nope," Irvine answered. "But we don't have a lot of options here. And maybe the big man has big heart we can reach if he sees the people."

After reaching the shoreline, they could see the airships on the horizon. As the group got closer, Rúrik scoffed at the airships. They entered the Celsius. As they did, Rikku, Lulu, Quistis, Irvine, Rúrik, and his guards had to make their way through the cargo bay, crowded with Bevelle's citizens huddled together. Crying children could be heard as well as the arguments of tired people.

After taking the elevator up to the bridge, they could see that even this area was crowded. The group made their way around the Sphere Oscillo-Finder and found Yuna, sitting on the floor with her head hanging. Wakka, Kimahri, and Paine approached as Rúrik stood in front of Yuna, and his guards behind him. After a moment of silence Rúrik spoke.

"Lady Yuna," Rúrik said in his gruff voice. "Standing before you is Rúrik, the leader and protector of Nibelheim. I do not entreat with people on behalf of their leaders. You have come to our city and wish to gain entrance. You may make your case with me personally."

Yuna did not budge, much less look up at him.

"Yunie…" Rikku said, softly.

"Ahem," Rúrik cleared his throat. "You have been granted an opportunity to negotiate shelter for yourself and your people. I suggest you speak."

"It's like we said," Lulu said. "Yuna has suffered a great loss recently. All these people have. It would be a big help if we just had somewhere quiet to rest and collect ourselves."

"I see," Rúrik said. "You have had your first taste of the real world. You are facing your first hardship in your young life. Leadership is a heavy burden, not many are suited for it. You are collapsing under its weight."

"Hey, back off, ya," Wakka said, stepping forward.

"If I am wrong, then Lady Yuna can correct me herself," Rúrik said, loudly. "But it seems that this loss you speak of is too great for her to overcome. If she is indeed your leader, then she can stand up for her people instead of sitting in self-pity."

Yuna quickly stood up, punching Rúrik square in the jaw. He staggered backward. Rúrik's guards drew their weapons, as did Rikku, Paine, Wakka, Kimahri, Quistis, and Irvine. Everyone had their weapons pointed at each someone. Rúrik regained his composure and signaled for his guards to lower their weapons. The SeeDs and Yuna's guardians did the same.

"If you think that this is my first taste of death, you're wrong," Yuna said, fighting back tears. "If you think this is the first time I've struggled, you're wrong. The person I love most just gave his life defending me, these people, and their home. Tidus is gone, and I was forced to run away. And if you think that you can just stand there and talk down to me about these things you don't understand, then you're wrong about that, too."

"Lady Yuna," Rúrik said, extending his hand. "I extend to you and your people my apologies and my aid. Nibelheim will help Bevelle."


	42. Chapter 42

Bevelle's citizens were brought into Nibelheim. The ones who had difficulty walking; children, wounded, and elderly travelled on wagons drawn by chocobos. Yuna and Rúrik watched from the walls of Nibelheim as the caravan of people entered through the metal gates.

"Thank you for this," Yuna said. "You don't owe us anything. You have no reason to help us, but thank you."

"Nibelheim is a strong city," Rúrik said. "Its people, that is. We are strong because build each other up. Our strength comes from each other, you see. Without being able to lean on others, without a foundation, we would crumble under our own weight. Strength comes with responsibility. That is why we are helping your people."

As the last people entered through the front gate, Yuna and Rúrik descended the stone staircase leading up to the wall. Kimahri waited at the bottom of the stairs. As Yuna and Rúrik began walking, he followed at a safe distance.

Walking deeper and deeper into the city, Yuna took notice of how different Nibelheim's lifestyle was to Bevelle's. Many of the citizens' daily tasks included tanning animal hide for leather, shaping metal for weapons, armor, and building necessities like nails and iron fittings. Very few people seemed to be working toward luxuries or leisure. It was as Rúrik said; the whole city was working on building each other up.

"This all must seem very simple," Rúrik said. "Compared to your life in Bevelle."

"It is different," Yuna said. "But familiar. I was raised on a humble island called Besaid. It's more like Nibelheim than Bevelle."

"And your life has led you to the highest seat in the biggest city in the land," Rúrik said. "Fate can be funny like that."

"You have no idea," Yuna said under her breath. "You city is the closest place to Bevelle, why is it so different?" she asked in a normal volume.

"Yes, you would think that our cities would be as close in our ways of life as we are in distance," Rúrik said. "The truth is, many of the surrounding cities pay very little attention to us. We're a lake-city. They believe we have nothing to offer. Why should they give us anything more than their allegiance? That's the way it has always been. That's why I was reluctant to help you, coming from Bevelle. After the tragedies at the temples began and our Aeon destroyed the temple, we asked Bevelle for aid. Instead, we get received little more than their condolences and prayers. When you came along, I suppose I was still bitter about it."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Yuna said.

Their walk led Yuna and Rúrik to the center of the city, where the temple stood. Like Rúrik said, it had been mostly destroyed, but thanks to the hard work of the people of Nibelheim, much of the restoration had been done.

"The majority of your people will take shelter in the temple," Rúrik said. "It is not luxurious, but they will have a roof over their heads and their basic needs will be met. Another portion of them will be able to stay in the Dragon House, where I live."

"The Dragon House?" Yuna asked. "What is that?"

"The Dragon House is where the leaders of Nibelheim have always lived," Rúrik answered. "It is a workplace for the city's councilors, but originally, it was built for those most devoted to our Aeon, Bahamut."

"That explains your armor," Yuna said. "The wings and horns."

"You know your Aeons, I see," Rúrik smiled.

"I like to think so," Yuna said. "They are truly unique creatures."

The smile faded from Rúrik's face.

"And they possess an equally unique fury and capacity for destruction," he said, softly, turning to face the temple.

"You said Tidus, your love, gave his life protecting your people," Rúrik said. "Now, you're left with the burden of making sure his sacrifice was not made in vain."

"Yes…" Yuna said. "Rúrik, what happened here?"

"I did what any fighter would do in the event of an attack," Rúrik answered. "I rallied my troops when Bahamut tore the roof off the temple. I fought, but my wife… My wife saved people. She cleared the temple while I prepared for battle. I watched as Bahamut brought the building down on her."

"I'm so sorry, Rúrik," Yuna said.

"Helping each other has been our strength," Rúrik said. "But since that day, I've wondered, perhaps it is our weakness."

"No," Yuna said, shaking her head. "To have strength is not to be invulnerable. It is to be afraid and in pain, but to keep moving anyway."

Rúrik looked back at Yuna. "I heard that Bevelle's new leader was just a child, and you may be. But you are wise beyond your years, Lady Yuna."

The two of them and Kimahri passed the temple and walked a little farther to the Dragon House. It was a very wide building. The shingles on the roof looked like scales and, at the right angle, the canopy extending from the main entrance looked just like a dragon's snout.

The double doors opened for Rúrik, Kimahri, and Yuna. Inside, they could see a couple of dozen cots being set up in what appeared to be a great hall. At the far end of the room there was a long table with high-backed chairs. That seemed to double as a dining and a public addressing area. In the center of the room was a large fire pit for warmth. Yuna's guardians and the SeeDs were getting settled.

"You and your companions make yourselves comfortable," Rúrik said to Yuna. "I will need to make some arrangements accommodating your people."

"Thank you again, Rúrik," Yuna said.

"Please, it is my pleasure," Rúrik answered, and he walked off.

Yuna took a seat near the fire pit, next to Lulu.

"What's your take on all this, Yuna?" asked Lulu.

"We can trust Rúrik," she answered. "Despite all his walls and precautions, he is a very generous and kind man."

"I could tell that when he first met us at the gate," Rikku said, sitting down next to Yuna. "I know good guys when I see them. It's like a sixth sense."

Yuna soon found that all of her guardians had taken seats around the fire with her. This is how they were right before they were all swept away to this place. This time they are missing someone.

"Yuna, I dunno if you wanna talk about what happened in Bevelle," Wakka said from the other side of the fire. "But I'm telling you right now, you're not alone in this."

"Wakka's right, Yuna," Lulu said, putting her hand on Yuna's shoulder.

After a minute in silence, Yuna looked up across the fire pit. Behind Wakka, she could see Rinoa sitting alone in her cot. She smiled at Lulu, lifting her hand from her shoulder, stood up, and walked over to Rinoa.

"How are you doing?" Yuna asked, standing in front of Rinoa.

Rinoa looked up at her, surprised.

"Oh! Hi," Rinoa said, wiping tears from her face.

She slid over, making room on the cot for Yuna, who sat down next to her.

"Well, I think you can understand better than anyone, right now," Rinoa answered.

"That bad, huh," Yuna said. "I'm not really sure why I came over. I don't have any magic words of comfort for you or anything like that."

"You don't need to say anything," Rinoa said, smiling. "I think we're on the same page. Besides, Squall was never really good at comforting words, so I'd say keep it up."

A few minutes pass as the two sit in silence. Finally, Rinoa speaks up.

"Have you ever been time travelling?" asked Rinoa.

"Uh… I can't say that I have," Yuna said, surprised by the question.

"My friends and I went into the future to fight an evil sorceress," Rinoa said. "It was a really trippy journey and we all got separated in compressed time. In order to find our way back home, Squall told us all to meet somewhere. At an orphanage the rest of the SeeDs grew up in."

"That's where you all went?" asked Yuna. "You found each other?"

"Eventually," Rinoa answered. "Because we promised each other. He promised that if I go looking for him, he'll be there, and I'll find him."

"Wow," Yuna said, smiling. "Tidus said something similar to me once. He said, 'If we should get separated, just whistle. I'll come running. I promise.'"

Yuna looked at her hands. She had her fingers ready to whistle.

"You should try it," Rinoa said. "You should whistle. He promised you, didn't he?"

Smiling, Yuna nodded. She stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled as loudly as she could. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked at her. She did not care. She whistled again. After a moment, Yuna thought she could hear a faint whistle in response.

"Um. Did you hear that?" Rinoa asked.

They both looked around. Another whistle, a little bit louder this time. Suddenly, the doors burst open and a Nibelheim soldier entered. He walked up to Rúrik.

"Sir, some more people have just entered the city," the soldier said.

"More? Have we miscounted?" Rúrik asked.

"No," the soldier answered. "These ones are new."

Yuna and Rinoa looked back to the doors. Tidus, Squall, and Cloud stood in the doorway. Rinoa and Yuna stood up and ran toward them. The guardians and the SeeDs joined them and swarmed Tidus and Squall. The group soon became a mass of bodies, with Squall and Tidus in the middle.

"I thought you were dead!" Yuna cried though sobs.

"Both of you, you dummies!" Rinoa said, also in tears.

"Jeez! We already got crushed once!" Tidus said, struggling to move.

Everyone soon let up and Squall and Tidus could finally breathe. Cloud and the rest of AVALANCHE soon approached everyone else.

"You guys found them?" Selphie asked.

"Yup," Tifa answered. "And not a moment too soon. Boy howdy, do we have some things to talk about."


	43. Chapter 43

AVALANCHE, the SeeDs, the Guardians, and Gullwings had gathered around the fire pit of the Dragon House, sitting in cots, standing, and sitting by the fire. Everyone shared what they knew about Sephiroth, Seymour, and Seifer's plan, the Aeons and temples, Erda and her brother, the time compression and the state of their very reality. They talked long into the night.

"So, it's basically doomsday," Irvine said.

"It will be if we don't stop it," Cloud answered. "And it will take all of us."

"How many Aeons we gotta stop?" Wakka asked.

"Short answer: quite a few," Shinra said, opening one of his books from Bevelle. "According to this book, 'Temples and Aeons', there are seven Aeons plus the one from Bevelle, which had no temple. One of the Aeons, the Minotaur Brothers, are two separate beings."

"That's eight Aeons hitting seven temples," Lulu continued. "And if I understand what Cloud said about the Knights of the Round, that Aeon is made up of another thirteen entities. My question is, if they have no temple of their own to attack, will we encounter them with any of the others?"

"I may be wrong, but I don't think so," Squall said. "Erda said each Aeon is going back to their own temple. Since the Knights don't have one, I think they'll just stay with Sephiroth."

"Eight Aeons and three teams," Yuffie sighed. "How are we supposed to manage this?"

"We can't think about ourselves as three separate teams anymore," Tidus said. "We have to all work together. That's the key."

"The Aeons are hitting these cities all at once," Tifa said. "We need to be there to stop them. Eight Aeons, eight teams. Right?"

"Correct," said Red XIII, walking up to the long table at the end of the room, where Rúrik sat in his high-backed chair. "This is a map of all the cities and temples, for those not familiar with this land. Pilots should give it a look before we head out."

"In the meantime, we should all get some sleep," Quistis said. "We won't be beating any GFs half awake."

Everyone began walking toward a cot for themselves, except Rikku, who stood rubbing her chin, thinking.

"GFs?" she thought. "Hey, Squall, right?" Rikku asked, walking up to Squall and Rinoa.

"What's up?" Squall asked.

"You and Rinoa, are like… you know…" Rikku said.

"She's my girlfriend," Squall answered.

"Right, your GF," Rikku said, gesturing to Rinoa. "So, she's summoned? She's an Aeon? How's that work?"

"What? No, she's not a GF," Squall said, shaking his head.

"But she's your girlfriend," Rikku continued. "Are girlfriends summoned where you come from?"

"Rikku, I think you're confused," Squall said.

"'Cause that's kind of disrespectful," Rikku said. "I don't wanna start a fight or anything, but women are not things. We're not possessions-"

"I know that," Squall interrupted. "GFs are Guardian Forces. That's what it stands for."

Rikku stood there, connecting the dots in her head. Finally, she spoke.

"I don't think you're listening to me," Rikku said. "She's not here to protect you or serve you in battle."

"A little help here?" Squall asked Rinoa.

"Thank you for your support, Rikku," Rinoa said. "But I am perfectly happy serving my master."

"You're no help," Squall said, rolling over on his cot. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Rikku," Rinoa laughed.

Rikku began walking backward toward her cot, gesturing and mouthing, "If you need any help, you come talk to me. I'll fight him."

Meanwhile, Yuna noticed Rúrik sitting at the long table. He had been silent since everyone began discussing the situation, deep in thought.

"Don't tell me you're going to sleep in that chair," Yuna said, approaching Rúrik.

"No, I am just thinking," Rúrik said.

"About what?" Yuna asked.

"Bahamut is returning," Rúrik answered. "It is coming back to finish us off."

"That won't happen, Rúrik," Yuna reassured him.

"I know," Rúrik said. "I am going to avenge my wife. Her sacrifice will not be in vain."


	44. Chapter 44

The fallout of Bevelle had settled. What was once a dust cloud hovering over the city now dissipated, leaving dunes of sand and dust all over what used to be the bustling streets of Bevelle. The spire that stood was now replaced by a flat, open space where the Knights of the Round's Fayth could be seen.

The stillness of the ruins was interrupted by a portal forming. Out walked Sephiroth, Seifer, and Seymour. The portal dissipated behind them. Looking around, Seifer let out a whistle.

"Love what you've done with the place, Sephiroth," Seifer said.

"With the power of all Aeons at our command, the final phase of the game can finally begin," Sephiroth said.

"You think bringing the tower down on those three was enough to kill them?" Seifer asked.

"This late in the game, it doesn't matter," Seymour answered. "We have all the weapons at our disposal."

"Cloud is as persistant as he is pathetic," Sephiroth said. "He will live to see his failure come to fruition."

"When we win; when Jorden wins," Seymour said. "What will you two claim as your prizes?"

"I will take what I should have had as my birthright," Sephiroth answered. "Once this planet is wiped clean, I will rule it, reshaping it to perfection. And you?"

"You and I actually have an aligned vision," Seymour said. "I want a world free from pain. Pain is inevitable while there is life. Remove life and you remove pain, suffering. A planet wiped clean is a planet saved. And you, Seifer?"

"You guys are nuts," Seifer laughed. "Go ahead and fight for perfection, fight to end pain. Whatever satisfies your warped perception of meaning. Call me old fashion, but I just want to see Squall dead at my feet."

"Simple," said Sephiroth. "You will have just that."

"Well, our prizes await us, gentlemen," Seymour said. "Seifer, if you would, please begin drawing out the legendary Knights of the Round."

Seifer stuck his gunblade into the ground and popped his knuckles. He walked into the center of the Knights of the Round's Fayth and kneeled. Placing his hand on the Fayth, Seifer began drawing the energy of the Aeon out.

"Boy, am I not looking forward to this," Seifer said. "This one is going to take a while, fellas, so watch my back."

"No one is coming," Sephiroth said. "Not while they are dealing with these Aeons."

Sephiroth began hovering and rose from the ground. Focusing his power, seven orbs of light emerged from Sephiroth's being and drifted outward. The orbs pulsated and then took on physical forms. All around the ruins of Bevelle, the seven Aeons scattered. Cerberus, Ixion, Ifrit, the Minotaur Brothers, Doomtrain, Valefor, and Bahamut surrounded their masters.

"Such beautiful creatures of destruction," Sephiroth said. "Return to your temples. Destroy everything in your paths. This is my will and so it is yours as well. Go."

With that, the Aeons all turned in different directions and began charging back toward their respective temples. Sephiroth returned to the ground and sat on a piece of rubble, waiting for the final Aeon.

"Happy Reaping, gentlemen," Seymour chuckled.


	45. Chapter 45

The Shera, Ragnarok, and Celsius all parked on the shore outside of Nibelheim, awaiting their pilots and passengers. The SeeDs, Guardians, and AVALANCHE gathered, making their final preparations before leaving to intercept the Aeons. Buddy and Shinra, who were inside the Shera, exited and approached Cid.

"Alright. Upgrades are all done," Buddy said.

"'Upgrades', huh. You better not have done anything to hurt her," Cid grumbled.

"Hey, you're the one that said she might not make the trip in time," Buddy said.

"We did what we could with the time we had," Shinra explained. "It was a simple matter of increasing the cycles-per-second output of the engine's pistons. If we had more time and newer parts, we could have made it the fastest out of all three ships."

"No time to second-guess now," Cid answered. "Let's get to it."

"Hey, Cloud! Squall!" Shinra called, walking up to them.

"What is it?" Cloud asked.

Shinra reached into his pockets and pulled out two spheres. He reached out and handed them to Squall and Cloud.

"Hold these for a second," Shinra said.

"What are they?" Squall asked.

"Secret weapons," Shinra said in a hushed voice, and chuckled.

The spheres began to glow and then scanned both Cloud and Squall from head to toe. After the spheres finished their scans, Shinra grabbed them back.

"Thanks, guys," Shinra said, taking the spheres back and shaking their hands. "By the way, the name's Shinra."

"Shinra?!" Cloud gasped, as Shinra walked away.

"What is it?" asked Squall.

"Nothing," said Cloud. "I just… know a guy by that name…"

The two were interrupted by a loud whistle. Cloud and Squall looked to where the sound came from, as did everyone else. Yuna could be seen standing on top of the Ragnarok waving her arms at everyone.

"Arlight, guys! Gather around! Pep talk!" Yuna called. "I know in the past week, we've had our differences and fought with each other at one time or another. As you all know, we have all been brought together to a time and place where we never should have existed together, let alone even met. Each of us has been made a pawn in a terrible game, and I know that isn't a very motivating reason to fight… but I am glad to have met you all. And I am proud to be fighting on the same side as you today. Alright, let's get to it!"

All three groups let out a big cheer, and Yuna hopped off the airship and joined her companions on the ground. She walked over to Rúrik, who was standing by the stone bridge connecting the shore to the city.

"Well spoken, Lady Yuna," Rúrik said.

"Thanks!" Yuna said. "I'm sorry I can't stay to help defend Nibelheim. One of my first guardians will be here, though. He'll help keep your city safe. And I'll see you before this is all over."

"No, I don't think you will," Rúrik said. "If what you say is true, when all the Aeons are defeated, and your game is won, you will return home."

"Not right away, I hope," Yuna frowned.

"If you and your friends go home, I'll know we were victorious," Rúrik smiled. "It will be bittersweet, but I do believe this is goodbye. Farewell, Lady Yuna."

"Goodbye," Yuna said.

The two of them bowed their heads to each other. Rúrik turned and began walking back to Nibelheim. Wakka walked up to Yuna and put his hand on her shoulder.

"We'll take care of the city," Wakka said. "Don't you worry 'bout nothing, ya. Go on. You got a ride to catch."

"I'll see you soon, Wakka," Yuna smiled, and she walked off toward the Ragnarok.

Soon, everyone was on their respective airship and began liftoff. Everyone except Wakka, Barret, and Irvine, who saw them all off. Once the ships were all out of sight, the three returned to Nibelheim to defend it.

Aboard the Celsius, on the bridge, Kimahri, Rikku, Yuffie, Red XIII, Squall, and Rinoa gathered, while Shinra, Buddy, and Brother worked away. Yuffie rocked back and forth on her heels, Squall and Kimahri both stood silently awaiting their arrival. Rikku and Rinoa sat on the floor fascinated by Red XIII.

"You guys nervous?" Yuffie asked.

Kimahri and Squall looked over at her, saying nothing, then looked away.

"A little bit," Rinoa answered. "There have been a lot of fights, but this one feels a little different somehow."

"I'm pretty excited," Rikku said. "We're fighting new bad guys with new friends. Variety is the spice of life!"

"Hey, Squall," Yuffie said. "Can I see your weapon for a second? I caught a glimpse of it in Balamb and I wanted to get a better look at it."

"Oh, yeah. That thing looks cool!" Rikku said, standing up.

Squall drew his gunblade and showed it off to everyone.

"Cool," Rikku said. "What is it?"

"It's called a gunblade," Squall answered.

"So, is it a sword or a gun?" Yuffie asked.

"Well, it's a bit of both, I guess," Squall answered. "It has the blade of a sword and the handle of a gun."

"Isn't that a bayonet?" asked Rikku.

"No, it's a gunblade," Squall said.

"Well, what's the difference?" asked Yuffie.

"A bayonet is a bladed gun," answered Squall. "A gunblade is a gunned blade."

"What's the trigger do?" Yuffie asked. "Does it shoot bullets?"

"No, it just… uh, blasts, I guess," Squall said.

"What kind of gun doesn't shoot bullets?" Rikku asked.

"It's not a gun, it's a gunblade," Squall said.

"I thought you said that it's a gunned blade," Yuffie said. "If it can't shoot, then it's not a gun. If it's not a gun, then it's just a sword."

"Fine, it's a sword," Squall sighed. "I never said it was a gun."

"Suddenly, it's not that interesting," Rikku said, putting her hands on her hips.

"And it's not even _half_ the size of Cloud's sword," Yuffie said.

"Hey, it gets the job done," Squall said.

"Yeah, but apparently it shoots blanks," said Rikku.

"Are you guys still talking about the gunblade?" Rinoa asked.

"Alright, I'm going to look around the ship," Squall said, walking away.


	46. Chapter 46

In the Northeast region, a couple of miles outside of this world's Esthar, the Ragnarok landed briefly. The area was a wide open field of grass, dying from chilly temperatures. The skyline of Esthar could barely be seen off in the distance. Behind the city was a large mountain range.

From the cargo bay, Zell and Tifa walked down the ramp, and Cloud wheeling his motorcycle out. It was cold enough for them to see their breath in front of their faces. The Ragnarok lifted off once again, turning West before blasting off.

"So, uh, we're just going to wait here?" Zell asked, rubbing his arms.

"We're directly in the path between Esthar and its Aeon," Cloud said. "Best place to be in my opinion."

"I mean, can't we wait in the town?" Zell continued. "You know, in a café or something, where it's warmer?"

"Oh, yeah," Tifa laughed. "And when the Aeon rolls up, we'll come right out, nice and toasty. I don't think the Aeon is just going to knock."

"By the way, Zell," Cloud began. "Do you know anything about this 'Doomtrain'?"

"Yeah, man," Zell said. "It's basically a living, breathing, poisonous train. It billows toxins out of its smokestack and has a big spooky-looking face on the front."

"Does it have any weaknesses?" Tifa asked.

"Dunno," Zell answered. "Never had to fight it."

"Guess we're going to find out then," Cloud said.

"Yeah, boy!" Zell cheered.

"I'll try to intercept it before it gets here," Cloud said, hopping onto this motorcycle.

"Cloud, this is a reckless move," Tifa warned.

"If I run into more trouble than I can handle, I'll come back and regroup with you two," Cloud said. "Promise."

"Alright then," Tifa said, crossing her arms.

Cloud revved Fenrir and took off, headed Southwest.

Meanwhile, en route to Bikanel, the Ragnarok soared just above the clouds. Quistis sat at the controls in the cockpit. Behind her sat Tidus, Yuna, Lulu, and Vincent.

"Get ready, you guys," Quistis said. "According to Red XIII's map, Bikanel is not too far from Esthar, and at our ship's speed we should get there pretty soon."

"It took two days on the Shera to get from Balamb to Nibelhiem," said Vincent. "The Ragnarok must be really fast."

"Well, it _is_ a spaceship," Quistis said. "International travel is kind of a breeze for it."

All of a sudden, something big and powerful hit the ship, throwing everyone inside from side to side.

"What the hell was that?!" Quistis yelled.

"It must be Bikanel's Aeon!" said Yuna.

"Yeah, looks like it got the jump on us!" Tidus added.

"Open the ship's top hatch," Lulu said. "We'll take care of it here and now."

"You want to fight it on the outside of the ship?!" asked Quistis.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time," Lulu answered, walking toward the door, followed by Vincent.

"Wait! I'll help!" said Yuna, standing up.

"Stick to the plan, Yuna," Lulu said. "We have the range. Plus, Quistis and Tidus will need you."

"Okay," said Yuna. "You two got your earpieces? Let us know how we can help from in here, alright?"

"We'll be in touch," said Vincent as the cockpit doors closed behind him and Lulu.

Together, Lulu and Vincent rode the ship's elevator up the Ragnarok's outer hatch and opened it. They climbed out, standing on the surface of the ship just above the cockpit. The sky was clear, but there was no sign of the Aeon. In their ears, Lulu and Vincent could hear Yuna's voice.

"You guys there?" Yuna asked. "Where is it?"

"I'm not sure," Lulu answered. "I can't see it yet."

On the left side of the ship, Valefor breached the clouds, flying alongside the Ragnarok. It looked at Vincent and Lulu and screeched loudly.

"Left side," Vincent said. "Keep it steady."

Vincent drew his gun and began firing. Lulu began casting streaks of lightning from her hands. They struck Valefor, who screeched in pain. Pulling in front of the ship, Valefor wound back its wings and flapped as hard as it could, sending waves of energy at Lulu and Vincent. The two were knocked on their back from the force. When they got up and looked around, Valefor was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did it go?" asked Lulu.

"I saw it dive beneath the clouds," Tidus said. "Keep your eyes peeled."

Just then, Valefor shot up through the clouds once again and unleashed a barrage of Energy Blasts upon the Ragnarok. Vincent rolled out of the way as the beams exploded on impact. He raised his gun to fire upon Valefor again, but saw it dive under the clouds again.

"Damn it," Vincent said. "There it goes again."

"Vincent, where's Lulu?" Yuna asked.

Vincent scanned his surroundings, but there was no trace of her. He stepped toward the edge of the ship and looked over.

"Quistis! Take us down!" Yuna commanded. "She fell overboard!"

"No, stay on course!" Vincent protested.

"Vincent, we have to save her!" Yuna said.

"Yuna, you have your own Aeon to fight," Vincent said. "If you don't get to Wutai, a lot of people are going to die. Don't worry about Lulu. She'll be fine."

Vincent ran to the back of the ship and dove off into the clouds.


	47. Chapter 47

Falling head-first through the clouds, Vincent started scanning the sky around him for Lulu. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her spread out, trying to slow her fall. He adjusted and made his way over to her.

"I was starting to wonder if you were crazy enough to come after me," said Lulu. "What's your plan for getting down safely?"

"I don't have one," Vincent answered. "I have our mission: kill the Aeon."

"Fantastic…" Lulu said. "Look out!"

Lulu planted her feet against Vincent and kicked off, pushing them both out of the way of Valefor, swooping by for an attack. Swinging back around, Valefor grabbed Lulu with its talons. Holding her up, Valefor wound back to tear her apart with its beak. Vincent shoved his left hand in its mouth. His gauntlet stopped Valefor from biting, and Vincent began unloading his gun into Valefor's chest.

Crying out in pain, Valefor spat Vincent's arm out of its mouth. Still clutched in Valfor's talons, Lulu grabbed its leg, shooting lightning from her hands. This forced Valefor to release Lulu, before flying off.

"Fighting on Valefor's turf may have been a mistake," Lulu said, drifting over to Vincent.

"We've got no cover," Vincent answered.

The two of them eyed Valefor as it circled them. Lulu clenched her fist, engulfing it with a fire spell.

"What do you say we take the fight to him?" Lulu asked.

She and Vincent grabbed each other by the wrist. As Valefor flew closer, Vincent threw Lulu at it. Lulu intensified her spell as she closed in on the Aeon and punched it across the face. The blow erupted in flames as Valefor was knocked back. Lulu grabbed Valefor by the neck and swung onto its back.

Lulu pulled back on Valefor's head, exposing its belly. Vincent flew over, grabbed onto Valefor and began shooting it in again. Valefor lurched forward throwing Lulu off its back. It pecked Vincent on the head and grabbed him by the cloak. Valefor viciously shook Vincent around before flinging him aside. It went after Lulu again, beak widened.

Seeing Valefor closing in, Lulu reached her hand into its mouth, forming a block of ice. Valefor began squawking in surprise as Lulu grabbed it by the head with both hands. Her eyes and hands began to glow a firey orange as she welled up with energy. Yelling with fury, Lulu unleashed a powerful Flare spell on Valefor's face. The blast scorched the Aeon and Lulu was thrown clear.

As Valefor's lifeless body hurdled toward the ground, Vincent drifted over to Lulu and pointed at Valefor.

"I have an idea to get us down safely," Vincent said. "We can use its wings to glide."

The two flew over to Valefor and grabbed onto its back. They each positioned Valefor's wings to catch as much wind as they could. As they began to slow down, they noticed the Aeon beginning to disintegrate. First Valefor's head disappeared, followed by its body and wings. Lulu and Vincent were back in freefall.

"Any more ideas?" Lulu asked.

They finally broke through the clouds and could see the ground quickly approaching. An icy tundra awaited their impact.

"I sort of have an idea…" said Vincent. "I can use Chaos to fly, but I need some time to concentrate."

"Well, don't take too long…" Lulu said.

Vincent closed his eyes trying to summon up the power of Chaos. Focusing, he felt himself becoming enveloped in darkness, but he could not take his mind off the imminent drop to the ground. He felt the darkness fading.

"Listen, we're both about to become a paste wrapped in red and black, so could you hurry it up?" Lulu said, angrily.

"I'm trying," Vincent said. "You're not helping."

"For crying out loud," Lulu scoffed. "I'll handle it. Just… try not to get splattered."

In one hand, Lulu conjured a water spell, ice in the other. She shot water underneath herself and Vincent and freezing it into snow. The two of them hit the layers of frost as they fell. They could feel themselves slowing a bit, but it was not enough. Looking at the ground beneath them, Vincent spotted some hills off in the distance. He grabbed Lulu around the waist and pointed to the hills.

"What are you doing?!" Lulu asked.

"Look!" Vincent said. "Aim us over there!"

With one hand around Lulu, Vincent grabbed his cloak in his other hand to catch the wind. They drifted towards the hills. As they got closer to the ground, Lulu intensified her spells, creating more and more snow. They flew over the crest of the hill, using its slope to slide down on the snow. Still travelling dangerously fast, Vincent wrapped himself around Lulu and hit the ground, taking most of the impact.

They bounced over and over, rolling down the hill. With a heavy thud, Lulu and Vincent landed at the bottom, both sprawled out on the ground, breathing hard, and covered in snow and frost.

"Ow," Vincent said.

"Not splattered?" Lulu asked.

"I did my part," Vincent said. "You got his handled."

They both laughed, weakly.


	48. Chapter 48

"'Welcome to Junon, the city of Brotherly Love'," Rinoa read.

"This Junon is certainly a far cry from the one I know," said Red XIII.

Rinoa, Squall, and Red XIII stood in front of a huge billboard just outside the city limits of Junon. They had just been dropped off by the Celsius on its way to Baaj. Passed the billboard, the trio could see Junon, surrounded by tropical beaches. The buildings were white with all sorts of curving, cylindrical, and dome shapes. The sun was shining without a cloud in the sky.

"Is this whole place a resort or something?" asked Squall.

"We need to take a closer look at this place when we're done," Rinoa gasped.

"What's Junon like where you're from?" asked Squall.

"It's a coastal village," Red XIII answered. "The Shinra Electric Company built its own city over top, blocking out the sun, polluting the waters."

"Sounds sucky," Rinoa said.

"Shinra had a monopoly on the planet's energy, technology, and its own private military," Red XIII continued. "So, yes. Sucky."

Squall, Rinoa, and Red began to walk the streets of Junon. Palm trees sprouted from planters along the sidewalks. Nearly all the vehicles were convertibles. The streets were not busy, but the people walking were almost all in swimwear and sunglasses, ready for a day at the beach.

As they approached the center of the city, they entered a clearing in the buildings. There they saw a ruined shrine. It was small, and had railings around it, arranged in a winding fashion for line-ups, like at an amusement park. Where the line started, a sign stood:

"Welcome to the Minotaur Brothers' shrine. Please form the line here to experience the tour of the Junon Temple. The temple lies behind our very feet, in a massive underground tomb of our ancestors. Please enter the temple through the shrine ahead."

"It looks more like a tourist attraction than a temple," Squall said. "Now that I think about it, everything around here looks like a tourist attraction."

"Yeah, it seems that these people have really lost respect for the past and tradition," said a voice coming from behind Rinoa, Squall, and Red XIII.

The three of them turned around to see two bovine creatures standing on their hind legs. One was about the height of Rinoa and the other was twice her height. The smaller one had yellow horns and the larger one had red horns. They were covered in purple fur and had armour that matched the colour of their horns. Red XIII, Squall, and Rinoa stumbled backward in surprise.

"IS THIS THE PLACE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BREAK, BRO?" asked Minotaur.

"Yes, brother," Sacred replied. "Please, you humans and canine, step aside. There is a temple behind you that we must destroy."

"For once, I am the one surprised at the talking creatures," said Red XIII.

"Yeah, these are the Minotaur Brothers," Squall said. "They're more talkative than the other GFs."

"I see our reputation precedes us," Sacred said. "Then you know of the power and wrath you will incur if you do not. Step. Aside."

"I'm afraid we can't do that, boys," Rinoa said, loading her blaster-edge.

"HOW ABOUT WE DO A LITTLE PRE-BREAK BREAKING, BRO," Minotaur said.

"My thoughts exactly, brother," answered Sacred.

The Brothers reached behind them and each pulled out large two-handed maces, seemingly out of nowhere. Before anyone could react, Minotaur swung his mace and struck Squall, knocking him down the street. Sacred slammed his mace down, crushing the concrete as Rinoa and Red evaded to either side. Rinoa found herself in front of Minotaur. He roared at her and wound his mace back to swing.

Rinoa quickly crouched and rolled between his legs. As Minotaur swung his mace, Rinoa emerged behind him and shot her blaster-edge at the back of his head. It bounced back to Rinoa, who reloaded it.

"OW! WHERE ARE YOU?" shouted Minotaur, looking from side to side.

Red XIII growled as he stared down Sacred as he gripped his mace. Red pounced, but was held back by Sacred, using the mace to keep his claws and teeth at bay. After a brief struggle, Sacred tossed Red XIII aside where he regrouped with Rinoa. As Minotaur finally turned around, Red and Rinoa found themselves face to face with both Minotaur Brothers again.

"Fighting two foes at once puts us at a disadvantage," Red XIII said. "We must make use of less conventional tactics to gain the upper hand."

"I can think of a couple," Rinoa said. "In the meantime, we should probably take cover."

Behind the Minotaur Brothers, Squall attacked with a leaping strike. He slashed Minotaur down the back and blasted him with a shot from his gunblade. Rinoa and Red XIII scattered as Minotaur stumbled and staggered before collapsing on a nearby car, crushing it. Turning to Sacred, Squall unleashed Renzokuken. With each strike of Squall's attack, Sacred skillfully blocked using his mace and deflected with his horns.

Sacred shoulder-charged Squall, knocking him on his back. Squall became pinned down by Sacred, who planted his hoof on Squall's chest. Sacred spun his mace over his head then line it up with Squall's head.

"Get your filthy hooves off him," said Rinoa.

Sacred looked over his shoulder to see Rinoa hovering, carried by glowing, white angel wings, with a ball of lightning in her hand. She threw it at Sacred, throwing him clear of Squall, knocking him into the mostly broken shrine behind him. Rinoa floated over to Squall and helped him stand. They looked over at the shrine to see it collapse in on itself.

"That's one down," Squall said.

"Rinoa! Squall! Look out!" shouted Red XIII.

Minotaur picked up and hurled a car at Rinoa and Squall. Reacting on instinct, Squall charged toward the car, slicing it in two. As the two pieces tumbled apart, Minotaur leapt into the air, about to bring his mace down on Squall's head. Squall held up his gunblade to defend himself and shut his eyes.

Expecting to be crushed, Squall cracked an eye open to see Minotaur trapped in a bubble, floating above him, struggling to land. He looked behind him to see Rinoa, casting a Float spell on Minotaur. Red XIII positioned himself on the far side of Minotaur.

"Squall!" Red called. "Over here!"

Squall nodded. He struck Minotaur with his gunblade, knocking him backward. Red XIII leapt into the air and began to spin. When Minotaur got close, he slashed with his claws, breaking through Rinoa's spell and severing Minotaur's arm. Red XIII landed. At his feet, Minotaur landed in a heap, crying and howling, clutching the stub where his arm once was. Red walked over to Rinoa and Squall.

"Let's finish him off," Squall said, gripping his gunblade.

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble and crack. As Rinoa, Squall, and Red XIII stumbled around, they felt the ground rise beneath them. From underneath, Sacred held up the slab of concrete the trio stood upon. Sacred tossed them high into the air. He hopped out off the newly formed crater and approached Minotaur.

"BROTHER! THEY TORE MY ARM OFF, BROTHER!" Minotaur roared.

"Quit your crying," Sacred said. "I'll let you go up this time."

"OKAY…" sniffled Minotaur, standing up.

Sacred held out his hand and Minotaur hopped on. With his incredible strength, Sacred threw his brother into the sky at Squall, Rinoa, and Red.

"This is bad," said Squall as he and his allies shot higher and higher.

"What exactly is happening?" asked Red XIII.

"In a few seconds, one of the Brothers is going to come flying through this hunk of rock," answered Rinoa. "And smash us out of the sky."

"Any ideas?" Squall asked.

"I got one," Rinoa said, looking at Red XIII. "You're not going to like it."

"Why is that?" Red asked.

"Just relax," Rinoa assured him. "I do this all the time with my dog."

Minotaur approached the sky-bound rock at a blinding speed. As he neared it, the rock was sliced open, bringing him face to face with Squall. Using his gunblade, Squall blasted Minotaur in the face, bringing him to a halt and launching Squall upward. As Squall flew passed, Rinoa aimed her blaster edge downward with Red XIII mounted on it. Rinoa fired her weapon, launching Red into a spiral. Red XIII tore right through Minotaur, slashing him to ribbons before he disintegrated.

Sacred stared into the sky, seeing a red streak quickly approaching. Growling, he readied his mace and jump into the air to meet it. As he got closer, Sacred realized the power behind Red XIII's strike and braced himself for the attack. Coming out of his spiral, Red XIII lunged at Sacred, driving his claws into Sacred's shoulders. The two landed as Red pushed the Aeon into the ground. Sacred popped into dust and the Minotaur Brothers were defeated.

Shortly after, Rinoa floated down to the ground carrying Squall. Rinoa's wings dissipated. They looked around to see crowds of people in the streets watching in awe. The three of them sat down, exhausted.

"Buy a girl a drink, anyone?" Rinoa called out.


End file.
